


Fickle Fate

by Raze_of_Sunshine



Series: Fate's Affect [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Colonist (Mass Effect), F/F, Lesbian Character, Mass Effect 1, Mercenary Shepard (Mass Effect), Mindoir (Mass Effect), My First Fanfic, Slow Romance, video game violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:48:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 51,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27536299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raze_of_Sunshine/pseuds/Raze_of_Sunshine
Summary: When Mindoir is attacked by Batarian slavers, sixteen-year-old Cara Jane Shepard is saved not by the Alliance, but by the mercenary Zaeed Massani. She joins his small mercenary operation, picking up other familiar faces along the way.Now, 28-year-old Shepard is helping to lead the crew, and a job with a huge payday comes their way. Millions of credits and practically served to them on a silver platter, it's just too good to pass up. Plus, Eden Prime is a backwoods paradise colony. What could go wrong?It seems that Shepard's fate is sealed when it comes to the Prothean artifact, but has her life been changed too much to make a difference when the Reapers threaten the galaxy.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Ashley Williams, Kasumi Goto/Keiji Okuda, Zaeed Massani/Original Asari Character (La'Dauna Onassis)
Series: Fate's Affect [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012731
Comments: 16
Kudos: 25





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello folks,
> 
> This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so I hope you like what I've created. This idea has been sitting with me for a few years now. The idea sparked off of a quote that Hackett made in a fanfic I read- sorry I can't remember which one :(. The quote was something along the lines of Shepard being fated to save the galaxy from the Reapers. So this is my attempt at playing with fate if you will. 
> 
> I'll give you fair warning now, the overall story is going to be massive and slow going (especially at first) because, as you know, mass effect is a huge story in and of itself. I plan on covering all three games, however, they will be mixed and matched, cut and pasted Frankenstein style into a new creation (sort of). 
> 
> If you've made it this far into the A/N, then thank you, only a little bit more I have to say. I don't really have a critique/beta reader for this so if you would like to be that person let me know in the reviews. I have gone through and edited them myself for grammar and spelling (mostly), but help with pacing, consistent (accurate) characterization, avoiding plot holes, and the like will be extremely helpful. 
> 
> Anyway enough of my rambling, on with the story.

The sound of laughter and farming colored the colony of Mindoir on most days, but today the crackle of uncontrolled fires and collapsing buildings replaced the regular noises. The streets, once filled with farming tractors, now catered to the dead colonists, shot down as they ran for cover and safety. Shepard recognized some of the dead, as she crept past, while others' wounds made them unrecognizable, even after knowing some of them for fifteen years. She kept her focus forward the best she could, knowing there was nothing she could do for her fellow colonists. Staying in the shadows and keeping behind things, kept her hidden from the small bands of Batarians still in the area. Most of them already moved towards the more crowded center of the colony, but a few clean-up groups still canvassed the area. Screams and yells and gunfire in the distance floated on the breeze into Shepard's ear. She forced the noises out and made herself focus on her current goal. She had to make it home and find out the fate of her parents.

When she arrived, Shepard found her parents. Ten yards from the Shepard family front door, a large dark spot covered the ground beneath two familiar bodies. Her dad's limp form half-covered her mom, acting as a shield, his arm slung across her body, and a gun near his motionless hand. No longer concerned about her wellbeing, she ran to their side and collapsed onto the blood-soaked earth. Her knees landed in the tacky mixture next to the still bodies. The hole in her dad's back gave her no hope that he still lived. Her mother’s wound wasn't visible, but her deathly pale skin revealed enough. She threw her arms around them and buried her head against her parent's bodies as tears streamed unbidden down her face.

“Cara,” a low, strangled voice whispered, followed by a very labored deep breath.

Cara Shepard startled at the noise and pushed herself up to look down at her mother. Tears continued to blur Cara's vision, but she could see that her mother’s eyes had opened, and, although the once vibrant blue eyes now glazed over with pain, they tried to focus on her. “Mom,” Cara said, wiping at her leaking eyes and reaching for her mother’s hand as it struggled to reach for her own.

“My sweet... baby girl,” her mother said with a labored breath. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, mom,” Cara comforted her, “It’s not your fault. You’re going to be fine.” Her voice cracked with emotion and a held back sob. “I’ll find help. You’re going to be okay.”

Her mother’s hand trembled as it moved from Cara’s hand and upwards to rest on her cheek. A weak but happy smile ghosted across Hannah Shepard’s face as her thumb brushed her daughter’s cheek with effort. “I know you’re going to be an amazing woman,” a labored breath, “You’re just beginning to discover yourself. I wish I was going to get to see you grow into your own, baby girl.” A sudden and violent cough left speckles of red on her too pale lips.

“I’ll find help. You’re going to be okay.” Cara tried to get up to find help but her mother stopped her.

“It’s too late. You have to get away, Cara,” her mother said in a pleading rasp, grasping her daughter’s hand and squeezing with as much strength as she could. Cara Shepard watched in pained horror as each breath her mother took became more and more difficult. More tears continued filling and spilling from her eyes with each of her mother’s labored breaths. The occasional violent cough wracking her body, causing more red to speckle her lips, cheeks, and chin.

“No, I can help you. I have to help you,” Cara said, pushing up from the ground and looking around for someone to help her. She took a deep breath to call out but felt a hand grasp with desperation around her ankle, and she looked down. Her mother's eyes were clear as they looked at her - compassion and understanding in her eyes.

“Mom, no,” Cara said, collapsing back to her knees beside her mom, "Please.”

“Cara,” her mother said, attempting to take another deep, labored breath but was unable as a coughing fit interrupted. Speckles of blood coated Cara’s face, but she didn’t notice. Using her shirt, she wiped the spots of blood from her mom's lips, cheeks, and chin; Cara's eyes blurry with unstopping tears.

A moment later, her mother stopped coughing and took a much needed, shallow breath, before continuing, “I love you, so much, Cara.” Another short breath. “Your dad and I both, but I need you to get safe.” A short breath, followed by more coughing. “It’s too late for me.” The woman looked at her unmoving husband, whose body lay draped over her in a protective embrace. The tears she had been holding back began a trail down the side of her face, removing the red spots as it washed across them. “For us,” she said around a choking sob. Another short shallow breath to control her tears, before she continued with urgency, “Go. Get to safety, baby girl. Live for us, Cara.”

Shepard bent over wrapping both her parents in one last hug, pouring all her emotions into it. She felt her mother’s hand caressing her head until the pressure eased with one last caress. Cara looked up to her mother’s face and saw the vacant look that had taken over the warm, loving expression. Cara wiped at the tears she had no control over and began to stand up when she heard a noise behind her.

“Well, look what we have here,” a deep, gravelly voice said.

From her squatting position, she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the voice and saw four batarians. They had come around the corner of her neighbors’ house, not thirty yards from her.

“Stand up nice and slow, and you won’t end up like the other dead chattel,” the voice said.

Shepard tensed with alarm and anger but managed to keep her head about her. She did not move. She saw the other three out of the corner of her eye point their weapons at her, as the one who spoke began walking towards her. Their guns trained on her were with casual attention, not believing her any kind of threat.

As the batarian moved closer, a malicious and gleeful grin stretched his face. He taunted her, telling her in detail the horrific jobs required of those in possession of batarian slavers. She clenched her jaw, forcing herself not to respond as he approached. Shepard’s father was ex-Alliance, and knowing how dangerous traverse colonies could be, he taught her how to survive. He drilled into her how she needed to stay calm in a situation and look for any opportunity that would allow her an advantage. Shepard angled her body to keep an eye on him. She noted his cavalier attitude - he didn't see her as a threat. He also blocked his companions’ shots with his closeness.

“How about I show you the ropes? Put you through your paces, so you’ll know what to expect. What do you say pet?” He asked as he took another step, placing himself less than a yard from her.

Her eye twitched in anticipation, The idiot had left himself vulnerable. Shepard grabbed the pistol hidden by her feet, and faster than he could register, she aimed and pulled the trigger. The shot was pinpoint accurate, piercing through one of the batarians four eyes and exiting the back of his skull. She launched from her crouched position, to grab the collapsing body, and use it as a shield. She fired off two more rounds at the remaining batarians, surprising them as they dove for cover. She hit one in the leg as he aimed at her, causing him to stagger as he sprayed a burst from his assault rifle. The shots were wild, and one of the rounds caught a slaver in the head, taking him down. The third slid into cover while she fired at his injured comrade.

The wounded batarian reached cover as she took a couple more shots at him, missing both. The dead batarian shield she held made it difficult to aim and move. Dragging the deadweight, she took small, shuffling steps, moving slowly towards her house for more effective cover. As she did, another group of slavers appeared, alerted by the sound of gunfire. The group, twice as large as the first, arrived weapons-ready. They aimed where she hid behind their dead comrade and spread about the area, intent on surrounding her. Cara could feel her strength waning as her legs shook, the body was getting more difficult to hold. Her options for cover, already limited, and the slavers' arrival, diminished her chances of getting safe to zero. She fired at them, hoping to take as many out as she could before they surrounded her, but to her dismay, the shots bounced off shields. 

She'd surprised the first slavers, who were unassuming of a young human girl, but this group wasn't taking chances. Her eyes searched the area, and her mind tried to recall something that could help her in her current situation.

A batarian slaver yelled from behind cover, “Give up, little girl. You human cattle are all the same, trying to delay the inevitable. There’s no way out for you. Come with us peacefully, and we’ll show you your true purpose."

In response, she fired a few more shots at the slavers she could see.

A burst of weapons fire impacted her flesh-shield, causing her to drop the pistol she was holding to keep the body from toppling her over and crushing her. She heard a few sinister chuckles before another burst of weapons fire hit the body and caused her to stumble backward, barely keeping on her feet and the body in front of her. 

A light tickle began at the base of her skull when her thoughts focused on the injustice of her current plight. The colony of Mindoir was a peaceful farming colony. They bothered no one and kept to themselves. Indignation surged within her and the light tickle became stronger. Where were the Alliance, their protectors? Pictures of the bodies passed on her way to find her parents flickered through her mind, each unnecessary death built on the ire coursing through her. The tickle became an itch as a steady buzzing feeling enveloped her body inch by inch, limb by limb.

“Shit!” One of the batarians shouted. Cara heard them as if from underwater as the buzzing in her head and ears amplified with her fury.

“She’s a Biotic. Take her down, but don’t kill her,” the same voice yelled. “She’ll make a good return if she’s not too damaged.”

She took a glance back at her parents, and her world went white. An animalistic, wrath-filled scream tore from her throat as she flung the batarian body she held for cover to the side.

The group of slavers, startled from the scream, hesitated and provided time for her to pick up the dropped pistol and close the distance between them. A yell from their leader made them resume firing. They aimed for her legs so they wouldn’t kill her, but she continued to advance. Her body glowed bright white with the barrier her subconscious mind created for protection against the flying projectiles.

Waving her free hand with an animal instinct at the bigger group, she sent a giant biotic wave crashing towards them. Shepard watched emotionless as they were all flung from cover, their shields sputtering out as they crashed to the ground. Two didn’t move from where they landed, necks at unnatural angles. She aimed her pistol and fired three rounds - two into the chest of the nearest batarian, and one into the skull of another trying to get back up - each finding their mark.

Another rage-filled scream and handwave produced a wobbling biotic mass that struck the batarian leader. His screams of agony went unheard by Shepard as her warp field ripped him apart, and she focused on her next would-be captor. Two more rounds - one to the chest, one to the head - neutralized another slaver.

The four surviving batarians scrambled for cover. Two found it behind a tractor and one behind a property wall. The last one, the one shot in the leg from the first group, was the recipient of a vicious biotic pull and two bullets to the back of the head.

"Open fire," a slaver yelled. The three rose from cover and fired at the advancing human girl. The one behind the property wall received a bullet to the head for his efforts, while the remaining two accomplished to whittle away her barriers. One of the bullets pierced through her barrier and slammed into her leg, knocking her to the ground. The two remaining slavers held their fire when she fell.

Shepard lay face down, her forehead resting against the forearm of her gunhand. She took heaving breaths trying to control the pain coursing through her body as she clutched her injured leg with her free hand. She could hear the remaining batarians talking but could not make out their words. Looking up from staring at the dirt, she saw them ease around the tractor, weapons at the ready. As they advanced and she did nothing, they relaxed and lowered their weapons, talking between themselves.

Shepard saw her final opportunity. Calling on everything she had left, she pulled her newly acquired biotics forth and reached out for the tractor. She lifted it into the air and moved so that it hovered above the stunned batarians. Before they could react, Cara dropped it on top of them, crushing them under its weight. Assured they weren’t going to move again, she succumbed to the darkness encroaching upon her senses.

A grizzled man, in yellow mercenary armor, walked towards the girl. He had heard the gunfire as he approached from the forest and arrived in time to see what she had done with the tractor. He stopped to check out her other handy work. It was impressive. As he got closer, he noticed the pool of blood forming under her leg and rushed to apply medi-gel before scooping her into his arms. “Don’t worry, kid. I’ll get you somewhere safe,” he told her, his voice gruff.

She didn’t stir the entire mile-and-a-half back to his ship. Once onboard, he applied more medi-gel and checked her for other external wounds. Not seeing anything obvious, he pulled up a program on his omni-tool and swiped it over her body, checking for any internal injuries. Everything appeared fine - no alarms sounded on his device. She suffered only from exhaustion and blood loss.

He left her resting in the small medical area and went to check his scanners, trying to figure out the situation on the planet. It wasn’t pretty. The Alliance was taking its time getting there, but he had tried to warn them. With a heavy sigh, he started up his shuttle unable to help any further, and lifted off, keeping low to avoid batarian ship scans. At least he’d helped this girl. He began to ascend, and he left the burning planet of Mindoir behind.


	2. Easy Peasy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of extra time this weekend so you get an extra posting this week. I'll still be posting Thursday which will be my main posting days.
> 
> Also, thanks to all of you who have checked out my story so far!

Thirteen years later.

Shepard jerked awake at her omni-tool communicator's loud beeping. The noise sent stabbing pains through her head.

“Shut that guddam thing off,” her partner’s muffled voice yelled from another room.

“Yeah, yeah,” Shepard grumbled, slapping at the beeping wristband, trying to stop it from making noise.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and grabbed the device from the bedside table. There was a new message awaiting her. Shepard ran her free hand down her face to wake herself up and tossed the wristband back on the table. A glance around the partitioned off room revealed that she was it's only occupant until she heard a noise from behind her.

She looked over her bare shoulder to the source of the noise. Hmmm, Shepard thought, turning around further. She canted her head, looking at the naked woman asleep beside her. The woman's honey-blonde hair, splayed in a halo around her head, brought a memory forward. _Oh right, Abyss_.

Shepard thought about the club her crew had closed the night before. A smile spread across her face remembering, _That had been wild_. She pushed herself off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

Shepard relieved herself, then checked herself out in the mirror. Her eyes weren’t too bloodshot but could use some help. She ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to settle its wildness, then gave her head a shake at the futileness, the short white blonde strands fell once again in a haphazard manner. She winced at the sharp pain that lanced through her head when she shook it. Opening the cabinet, she searched through it until she found a single pack of headache meds and eye drops. Ripping the med package open, she tossed them in her mouth and washed them down with a handful of water from the sink faucet, then applied the eye drops and returned the bottle to the cabinet.

Exiting the bathroom, she moved towards the small kitchenette area. Her omni-tool began beeping again. She ignored it as she went through cabinets until she found what she was looking for, coffee grounds. She sat them down and searched the area for the coffee machine.

“I swear Shepard if you don’t shut that guddam thing up,” Zaeed’s rough sleep addled voice growled with menace.

Shepard smirked as she scooped grounds into the coffee maker she’d located, then turned her head when she heard the beeping from her omni getting closer. The blonde from the night before stood holding the wristband at the end of a finger. She wore Shepard’s shirt, and it did not cover much. “You look amazing in my shirt,” Shepard said, sweeping hungry eyes over the woman before taking the omni device, “Thanks.” She shut the device off, again ignoring the incoming message. “Want some coffee?”

The blonde answered her by closing the distance between them and capturing Shepard’s lips in a heated kiss. The woman’s hands ran down Shepard’s bare back following the line of her spine before the blonde’s fingers traced the elastic band of the boy-shorts Shepard wore.

Shepard groaned and sat her omni wristband on the counter so she could use both hands to pull the blonde closer. The blonde woman's fingers teased around to the front of her waistband, shooting desire straight to Shepard's core. Cara ran one hand down the woman’s back towards the bottom of the shirt and used the other to pull the blonde in for a deeper kiss. 

Before she made it to the end of the shirt, her omni-tool's communicator beeped again. With reluctance, she pulled back and let out a frustrated growl, breathing heavy, she grabbed the device. She slapped it around her wrist and pulled up the screen. “What is so fucking important?” she wondered aloud. Opening the message, her eyes went wide as she read. Her eyes flickered between the message and her guest a few times before she blew out a breath, her decision made. 

“Zaeed!" she hollered across the small apartment, "Get your ancient ass out of bed. We've got a new job.” She looked over at her guest, “I hate to run,” she leaned in for another searing kiss, pulling back before it got too heated, “I really, really do, but…,” Shepard groaned looking the blonde up and down. She left the woman standing in the kitchen as she went to get dressed, "...duty calls.” 

As Cara opened the doors to a wardrobe closet, she could hear Zaeed moving around in the other room. His familiar curses and threats brought a smile to her face as she grabbed a pair of well-worn jeans and a t-shirt. She tossed them on the bed after holding them up to herself, then grabbed her boots and holster from a chair in the corner, carrying them over to the bed where she dropped them on top of it, next to the clothes.

Turning to look for her bra, Shepard saw the blonde help herself to a cup of coffee before leaning against the cabinet to watch her through the opening left by the partition. The blonde noticed Cara watching her and gave a teasing smile as she brought the mug to her lips and took a sip. Shepard stared at the blonde's lips as they wrapped around the edge of the mug. Cara forced her eyes to look away and returned a dazzling smile then continued the search for her bra. She found it under the same chair her boots and holster were stored.

By the time she dressed and strapped on her holster, Zaeed had completed gathering his gear and waited at the door. Shepard grabbed her gear bag, that she had tossed at the foot of the bed, and looped the strap over her shoulder.

She approached the blonde and wrapped her into one last kiss, running her hands up and down the woman’s curves. “Last night was great,” Shepard said when she finally pulled away. Another survey of the blonde woman’s body caused a groan of regret.

“Come on, Shepard,” Zaeed groused, triggering the door open.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” she said as he exited, never taking her eyes off the blonde.

“I had fun, too,” the blonde said. “Next time you’re in town…” she grabbed Shepard’s wrist with the communicator and entered her personal contact information.

Shepard gave her a charming grin and a quick kiss on the cheek as she backed away, “Help yourself to whatever, and you can keep the shirt. It looks good on you. The guy I borrowed the place from will be back this afternoon, so don’t stay too long.”

Shepard saw the blonde’s eyes widen and heard her gasp. She responded with a wink and was out the door a second later.

“It’s about guddam time,” Zaeed said. “What’s the job?”

“Lots and lots of credits,” Shepard said, “enough to take a nice vacation, upgrade things, maybe get a new ship.” She saw him stop walking and looked back, adding, “Maybe find a good enough information broker to get you info on your buddy, Vido.” She chuckled when Zaeed growled at the name and caught up with her. She reached over and slapped his shoulder, “I’ll give the details when we meet up with the rest of the crew.”

“I already messaged them. I told everyone to be back on the ship in forty.”

“Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s get a move on it, old man,” Shepard teased as she took the lead and headed towards the cab terminal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thirty-three minutes later, Shepard and Zaeed stepped out of their cab. The ride had occurred in comfortable silence with only a few questions about gear, or teasing, comments about the previous night. They had worked together long enough not to need idle chatter filling the silence. Weaving their way through the busy walkways of the Nos Astra spaceport, they dodged people making last-minute purchases on the way to their ship. Shepard's ship, _Vulpes Nocturna_ , or _Night Fox_ as most of the crew called it, was berthed at the lower docks. It took a flight of stairs and two elevators to reach.

The last elevator deposited them down the hallway from their ship. A Japanese male, who looked in his mid-twenties, leaned against the wall, his attention on his omni-screen. He looked up when the elevator doors opened and waved at the two occupants as they exited.

“Everyone else here?” Shepard asked.

“Just waiting on you, Boss,” the man said, sending a quick message through his omni-tool and joining Shepard and Zaeed as they passed.

“So, what did you and your S-O get up to last night?” Shepard asked. “Not too much trouble, I hope.”

“Of course not, Shepard,” the man said, in mock hurt, “we helped a few of the club patrons,” he hesitated, to choose the correct words, ”unburden themselves from some of their abundant wealth.”

Shepard shook her head before asking, “Anyone we’ll have to worry about?”

A woman appeared on the man’s right, out of thin air, and looped her arm through his, “Of course not, Shep. Keiji and I are professionals,” she said. “They were some loud-mouth tourists with too many credits and not enough brains.”

Shepard chuckled. “Hey, Kas,” she said in greeting. “How much did you get?”

“Oh, about 50,000 credits,” Kasumi answered with a grin.

Shepard let out a breathy whistle.

“Nice job,” Zaeed said with a gruff chuckle.

The four reached the door to their ship, where a woman was waiting with her arms crossed. She scowled at the group as she relaxed her stance, “About fucking time.”

“Oooh, I like the new tat,” Shepard said, coming up beside the woman. She bent over to check out the new tattoo on the woman’s bare torso, leaning in close. “What's this one for, Jack?”

“Fuck off, Shepard,” Jack said with a smirk on her face, shoving Shepard back by her forehead.

Shepard laughed and gave Jack a small shove in return on the shoulder, “One of these days, you're going to tell me.” Jack shook her head and offered Shepard her middle finger.

“All right,” Zaeed said, “just get on the guddam ship so we can get the details of this job.”

Shepard palmed the door lock and waited for it to open. The pilot, Cael, waited for her on the other side.

“Shepard,” the turian pilot said, greeting her as she walked through, “everyone else is waiting in the galley.”

“Is the ship ready for take-off, Cael?” Shepard asked.

“Give me a destination, and we can lift-off.”

“Let’s get to the galley so I can give everyone the job,” Shepard said, heading to the stairs that lead to the lounge. Her corvette was nothing stylish or huge, but it was big enough for her crew and their supplies. It was an old asari design. She and the rest of the team had customized it, adding and adjusting things that allowed them to succeed at their job as mercenaries. When they came across schematics and other devices they could add, one of her techs would find a way to integrate it into or onto, their ship. She patted the wall as she ascended the stairs to the lounge.

At the top of the stairs, in the ship’s comfortable living area, a quarian tapped away at his omni-tool. “Hey, Reza," Shepard said, moving to sit next to him, "anything interesting to report?”

“Hello, Captain,” Reza said, looking up from his omni. “No, nothing this time. I have a lead on some possible new shield specs for the ship, but there isn’t much information about them, yet. I’m waiting on more from my tech guy.”

“Okay, I’m sure you’ll find something. After that last close call in the Terminus, we need all the help we can get,” Shepard said, watching as the rest of the crew made their way into the lounge.

“Yeah, if it wasn’t for Cael, we’d all be little bits of space dust,” Kasumi said.

Cael’s mandibles twitched with humble gratification of the praise, “Thank you, Kas.” He took a seat next to Reza.

Shepard smirked at the turian. She was almost positive that he had a little crush on the, already spoken for, thief. “What about you, Cael? What’s that you’re working on?” Shepard pointed to the rounded square device he'd picked up as he sat.

“Working on that power mod I told you about. It’s coming along. Slowly,” the turian said.

Shepard nodded, "You'll get it. No rush."

Another turian, a female, stepped around the wall dividing the lounge from the galley, “Hurry up before your food gets cold. I managed to appropriate some Earth bacon and dextro fruits.”

“You’re not the one who cooked, are you?” Shepard asked with a look of horror on her face.

“Hey, Sid,” the female turian looked back over her shoulder.

“Yeah,” another lighter, female turian voice said from the galley.

“Shepard doesn’t get any bacon.”

“Wait a minute, don’t be so hasty,” Shepard said, standing and moving towards the galley, “It was just a joke, Vetra.”

Vetra narrowed her eyes - the point of her violet facial markings scrunching with her brow.

Sid came up beside Vetra and nudged her with a shoulder, “Come on, sis. Give her a break. She’s obviously delusional from hunger.”

“Yeah, delusional,” Shepard said, “that’s me.” She saw a flutter of Vetra’s mandibles as she tried to hold back her smile.

“Well, I can still have bacon,” Zaeed said, pushing past Shepard, “And I’d like to eat mine while it’s hot.” He stopped next to a still narrowed eyed Vetra, “Thanks, Vee. You sure know how to treat a fella.”

Vetra let her smile appear and gave Shepard a pointed look, “That’s how you treat your requisitions person, Shepard.” She turned to Zaeed, “You’re welcome, Z. I also got you some of those Earth cigars you like. Cupin?”

“Cuban,” Zaeed corrected, then said with a large smile, “You are a doll.”

Vetra nodded her head as her mandibles flicker with a smile, “Okay everyone, let’s eat, and Shepard can tell us about this new job.” She stepped aside, clearing the galley doorway and letting the other’s pass. She stopped Shepard with a taloned hand on her chest, “If I like it well enough, you can have some bacon.”

“Oh, I’m getting some bacon,” Shepard said with confidence and a smirk as she passed.

Shepard waited for everyone to grab some chow and sit down before she explained the job.

“So, what kinda work are we talking about?” Jack asked around a mouthful of food.

“Come on, Jack. I know we've trained you better than that,” Shepard said. “Chew, then talk, you animal.”

Jack took another bite and flipped Shepard the bird, then opened her mouth wide so Shepard could see the masticated food in her mouth.

“Pig,” Shepard said with a grin.

“I'm not getting any younger, Shepard,” Zaeed growled, “What the hell is this job?”

“Oh, right.” Shepard saw Vetra role her eyes and smirked at her. “It's a retrieval job. On Eden Prime. Some prothean artifact or whatever,” she said, waving her hand. “Payday is 55 million credits.”

A couple of the humans whistled, while the turians' mandibles fluttered in shock. Zaeed sat back in his seat, “Guddam, Shepard. You weren't exaggerating.”

“What's the catch,” Jack asked, always suspicious.

Shepard sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, “Besides the heavy Alliance presence guarding it.” She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, folding her arms once again. “We've only got five days to plan and retrieve the artifact before the Council sends someone to pick it up.”

“Five days,” Vetra’s voice flanged with disbelief. “It’s going to take us almost two to get there.”

"Two and a half," Shepard said. "We have to stop and pick up a few more people. Eden Prime is a predominantly human colony; any aliens on-world would only draw attention."

"Who are we gonna get on short notice?" Keiji asked.

"I've already sent messages out to Sloane and Rey," Shepard said.

"That ass?" Vetra said.

"He loves you too, Vetra," Shepard said about Rey.

"Okay, so how are we going to plan this in two days?" Jack asked. "Especially since, it's covered by Alliance dogs."

Shepard tapped at her omni for a moment, then everyone else's omni beeped. "This is the package sent to me. From the quick scroll I gave it, there's a pretty detailed layout of the area, along with shift rotations and such."

Zaeed had been going over the data as Shepard spoke. "I'll see what I can come up with." He looked to the crew's technician, "Cael, looks like we might need a few toys."

"I have a few things I can throw together that might prove useful," he agreed as he scanned over his own information packet.

"Okay then," Shepard said. "Everyone, look over the info and make plans. We'll meet back here in four hours." Shepard looked to Cael, who was fiddling with the mod again, "That give us enough time for our first jump?"

Cael stopped and looked at Shepard, "We going Eagle or Minos?"

"Minos would be better for time. Eagle will have too much traffic because of people traveling to Omega. I told Sloane and Rey to meet us at the Citadel if they're joining us."

"Four hours will work," Cael agreed as he stood and tucked the mod away into one of his cargo pockets. He grabbed his plate of food and nodded to the rest of the crew as he left the galley.

Everyone resumed eating and chatting among themselves. Shepard pushed back from her spot at the table to get herself something to eat. She loaded her plate with the eggs and starch roots available, then turned to add the bacon to her plate. Instead, she bumped into Vetra and almost spilled her overloaded plate, "Hey."

"I clearly remember saying, you only got bacon if I liked the sound of this job," Vetra said. Her mandibles held tight against her jaw, her eyes narrowed.

"55 million credits," Shepard said, trying to reach around the turian.

"Five days. Alliance guarded. Citadel council" was all Vetra said, swatting at Shepard's reaching hand.

"We've had harder jobs," Shepard argued, still trying to get to the bacon.

"Name one," Vetra said.

A twinkle came to Shepard's eyes, "Well, there was that mess on Anhur that we got caught up in, then that thresher nest ambush. Also..."

"Okay, fine," Vetra stepped out of the way tossing her hands up, "the bacon's yours."

The human's mouth pulled up on either side, and her eyes twinkled in triumph. "Thanks," Shepard said, adding the remaining slices of bacon to her plate.

Vetra made a grunting noise, "Anyone else, Shepard, and I would have put them down by now." A grin had begun to show as her mandibles twitched and lifted.

"I have that effect on people," Shepard quipped, before taking a bite of her eggs. She swallowed, then added, "Plus, I know how you really feel about me." She leaned in and placed a quick peck of her lips on the turian’s cheek before going to retake her seat.

"You ass," Vetra said, swiping her hand across her cheek. Her voice was teasing, though. The others at the table had been watching the exchange and chuckled along with the turian. "If you need me, I'll be finishing my supply lists down in cargo," she said, leaving the galley.

“Well, Keiji and I can't do much until we dock,” Kasumi said, pushing up from the table, “but we’ll both see if there’s any more info we can discover.

“I’ve still got a few contacts on the Citadel,” Keiji agreed, "I'll get in touch with them." He grabbed Kasumi’s hand and led her towards their quarters.

Shepard shrugged and looked at Reza, “So Reza, we may need to get out of Dodge fast.”

The quarian quirked his head to the side, confused by the human idiom, “Shepard?”

“Means there's a chance we’ll need to leave in a hurry,” Jack explained, rolling her eyes and looking at Shepard. “Can’t you speak like a person from this millennium, Shepard.”

Shepard only smiled and shoveled another forkful of food in her mouth.

“Ah,” Reza said, “yes, I’ve been working on the new upgrades for the engines. They should help with speed, but those intercoolers will need replacing. The heat created by the upgraded engine breaks them down too fast.”

"Ok, we can get some when we stop at the Citadel. Sid,” Shepard said to the young turian cleaning up the leftovers, “think you can go with Reza to get those.”

“No problem, Shepard,” Sid said. 

“Great,” Shepard said, then dug into her food.

Reza and Sid left the galley to plan their shopping trip after she finished putting things in storage. The galley was quiet as everyone finished their meal. Shepard and Jack made faces at each other as they ate, and when Zaeed finished, he joined Cael in the cockpit so they could trade ideas for the job.

Once finished, Jack and Shepard washed their dishes and departed to their quarters to work on the mission. Shepard retired to her small room and sent the information onto a large interface screen. She began to parse through the packet of information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for a beta/critiquer. If you're interested check out my profile for how to get in touch. :)
> 
> And, last but not least, whether it's love or dislike, tell me what you think. Are the chapters too short? too long? Do the characters feel enough like their game counterparts? How do you feel about the OCs? Should I keep them or ditch them? Anything at all, lay it on me.


	3. Feeling Queazy

Deep in focus, the chirping of her comms caused Shepard to jump. “Son of a bitch,” she grumbled before answering the page. “Yeah?”

“We’re about to jump,” Cael said.

“Okay, thanks,” Shepard replied. “Once we get to the other side, set course for the Citadel, then we’ll all meet in the lounge. I’ll alert the others.”

“Copy that, boss.”

Shepard looked at the datapad she had been using to take notes. She rubbed her face. The job wasn’t going to be easy, but the amount of information and the detail would make it easier. This caused a healthy amount of suspicion in Shepard. After reading through the packet - twice, the thoroughness of the information set off alarm bells. Whatever this prothean artifact was, it was of great importance to someone. Why? she asked herself. Technological information sure, but the work put into getting this intel; Shepard shook her head. She activated her comms and sent a ship-wide message, “Meeting in the lounge, in ten.”

After a quick trip to the head, Shepard gathered up her datapad and left for the lounge. She wanted to hear what the others’ thoughts were before she expressed her concerns. This job would put them in a good spot. Reza could head back to his people - that kind of loot would allow the purchase of a small ship. Vetra and Sid could settle down if they wanted. Both sister’s enjoyed the work, but, she knew, Vetra worried about Sid in this lifestyle. Mercenary life wasn’t for teenagers. Shepard smiled at the irony of the thought before continuing. Cael always talked about opening his own shop on the Citadel, and his cut would be a huge step in that direction. Shepard shrugged, We’ll see. She felt the _Night Fox_ shift, on its way through the relay, as she reached the stairs.

Zaeed was already in the lounge. He sat in the corner of the larger of the two couches. He rested against the arm as he scrolled through extranet sites. A noise at the stairs drew his attention to Shepard when she entered the lounge. “Hey, I called La'Dauna,” he said, “figured, if things got troublesome, we’d need a decent medic.” He looked over as Shepard nodded and took a seat opposite him on the smaller couch. Closing up his omni-tool, he leaned forward, keeping his voice low, “I don’t know about you, Cara, but this job has a bit of a stench to it.”

Cara sighed, then swiped her hand across her face. She rubbed her chin in thought, “Yeah, I know. I went over everything twice, and something’s off. I'm waiting to hear what everyone else says before I bring it up, though.”

“Hmm,” Zaeed grunted. “Too much intel. Too little time. Almost feels like a setup.”

“Yeah, there’s that, or someone very powerful has an interest in it. But, what makes me wonder, is, what’s so important about this artifact? Other artifacts uncovered were never this,” she paused to think of a proper way to describe it, but for lack of better words, said, “hush, hush. All secret ops and under the radar nonsense.”

“Who sent the job?”

“Kessler,” Shepard answered. “I sent off a message to see if I can get more info about the patron, maybe that’ll give us a few answers.”

“Answers about what?” Jack asked, plopping down on the other side of the large couch.

“On who sent the job,” Kasumi said, appearing out of nowhere.

“Damnit, Kas,” Shepard said, looking over her shoulder at Kasumi, “no spying on your crew.”

“I wasn’t spying, Shep,” Kasumi said, “I was testing out a few modifications. Sound dampening shoes.” She pointed to her boots as she sat next to Shepard on the couch. “A gift, from Keiji.” Kasumi smiled as the person in comment entered and sat next to her.

“What are we discussing?” Keiji asked.

“Kessler,” Kasumi answered.

“Ah,” was all Keiji said.

“What’d that fucker, Kessler, do this time?” Jack asked. “By the way Shepard, this job gives me the tingles,” Jack let a wave of biotic energy pulse in her hands, “I’m not going anywhere near this artifact until we scope it ourselves."

“That seems to be the consensus so far, Jack,” Shepard agreed with a sigh.

“Good. Last time I didn’t fuckin’ listen to my gut, you had to pull my dumbass off a slaver ship.” " Jack sat back on the couch - spread legged, feet planted on the ground, and arms crossed.

“I like what you did with my sweatshirt,” Shepard said, looking over the cut-up top Jack was wearing with narrowed eyes.

“You gave it to me,” Jack said.

“I said you could borrow it.”

“I’ll give it back,” Jack said with a grin.

Shepard looked the destroyed sweatshirt over with a raised brow. The arms, except for the cloth that covered the shoulders, no longer existed. The bottom half was in a similar state, leaving the woman’s new tattoo on display, and the collar was now a v-neck of sorts - to compensate for the tattooed woman’s bustier size. “Just get me a new one the next time we’re on the Citadel for longer than a second.”

"Fuck off, Shepard,” Jack replied with an eye-roll and a smirk.

“What’d Cara do this time?” Vetra asked, joining the growing crowd. Sid and Reza followed behind her.

“Me?!” Shepard said with a hand pressed to her chest. “Did you see what she did to my Washington Hackers sweatshirt?”

Vetra glanced at a smirking Jack, looking at the tailoring job. “Yeah, improved it,” she said deadpan.

“Hey!” Shepard protested as smothered chuckles sounded around the room.

“She got you, Cara,” Zaeed chortled, not bothering to hide his amusement.

“All right, all right,” Shepard said, “laugh it up, but I’m the only one with access to distribute all your cuts from the job.”

“Don’t even think I won’t turn you into a smear,” Jack said, letting a bit of her biotics come to the surface.

“You’ll still be out of your cut.”

“Please, Shep,” Kasumi scoffed, “Nothing Keiji, or I, can’t hack into.”

Shepard threw her hands up in defeat, “Fine, go ahead. I’ll just find a different crew to run with, one that will appreciate me and my things.” She looked pointedly at Jack, who still had a smirk on her face.

“Look, we’ve gone and hurt her feelings,” Jack said.

“Fuck you,” Shepard said, a large grin spreading across her face.

“Not gonna happen, you sick fuck,” Jack replied with a grin of her own.

The rest of the group chuckled as the teasing wrapped up. Cael joined them with a bemused look at the snickering still flitting throughout the crew. “We're queued for the Citadel. Estimated time is forty-five minutes.”

The group’s mood grew more serious at the reminder of why they were there. “Okay, people,” Shepard said, “gives us enough time to cover basics. First on the list, are there any comments or concerns about what you’ve found in the package?”

“You mean the hand-fed meal sat out on a platinum plate?” Vetra asked. “I haven’t had a job that looked this easy since…” she paused to think.

“Never is the word you’re looking for,” Cael said.

“Oh, yeah, he’s right,” Vetra looked at Shepard, eyes narrowed, “Never.”

“We did have that one job, where all we had to do was drop off that mineral shipment,” Reza offered. Everyone snickered, except Shepard.

“What is this, pick on Shepard day?” She asked, throwing her hands in the air again. “How was I supposed to know the container had an infestation of kokis, and it was an easy job, until someone got curious, and decided to open the package.” She narrowed her eyes at Kasumi.

“I couldn’t leave those poor, helpless creatures in there to die,” Kasumi said, defending herself. “They would never have survived the desert planet where we delivered that crate.”

“Fine,” Shepard said with a shake of her head, trying to move the meeting along, “I agree, this job seems fishy as hell. Now, what other concerns are there? Are we even interested in going ahead with it? I mean, yeah, that’s a lot of credits, but if we aren’t able to use them, what’s the point, right?”

“I was able to get in touch with a couple of old contacts,” Keiji said, leaning forwards, his elbows on his knees, “and the intel given to us appears to be accurate. Eden Prime is a quiet garden world that happened to unearth a prothean artifact. The Alliance assigned to the planet are to keep an eye on the thing until the Citadel can send someone to pick it up for them.”

“Anybody else find out anything?” Zaeed asked. “My contact said the same thing. Alliance is tight on the ground. Council’s real, real interested in whatever this guddam thing is, and Earth’s politicians have agreed to share.”

“So, we've established the apparent reliability of the intel. We'll investigate it ourselves, then we can agree to go ahead, or not,” Shepard said.

“Agreed,” Jack said, “best case, we go away rich fuckers; worst case, we fuck shit up and tuck tail. I’m not going to be anyone’s prisoner again.”

“Wouldn’t let it happen,” Shepard said, a hard, serious look on her face. The others nodded.

Jack stared at Shepard a moment before giving her a tilt of her head in gratitude.

“Well, that leads us to the next item on the list,” Shepard said, checking her datapad for a moment. She looked to Zaeed, “Do we have any idea how we’re going to do this? Slow and stealth, or quick and loud?”

“Leaning towards stealth on this one, Cara,” Zaeed said, looking at everyone around the room. “There’s going to be plenty of guddam civilians in the area, plus, the Alliance are just doing a job. Don’t want unnecessary casualties.”

“Do we know what this artifact looks like?” Vetra asked. “That would be helpful.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to locate,” Shepard said with a shrug, “it’ll be the thing surrounded by Alliance guards.”

Vetra’s mandibles tightened against her jaw before she spoke again, “Can we do this job with one or two people on the ground, or are we going to need a full crew?”

Shepard gave Vetra a look of chagrin then tapped at her datapad, “Oh yeah, good point, Vetra. That’s one thing to investigate.” She added that to a list of other things she would need to check later. “What else?”

“Sid, if you can get us a map of the terrain, I can find a large enough area, near the artifact's position, where I can land the ship. There was no mention of AA guns on the planet,” Cael said.

“I can do that,” Sid tapped at her omni, sending the search to her work computer.

“Good,” Shepard said, “what about local life? If we’re checking this out for ourselves first, we'll need to do recon. Get the lay of the land. Find the Alliance hangout and scope them. We could use one of them to get info about the artifact. I'll talk to Sloane about a plan for our cover. ”

“Ha, good one Shepard, you just want to know where the local waterhole is so you can find another bed warmer,” Jack scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Cara looked over to Jack with a solemn look on her face. “This is a serious job, Jack, and... if I have to bed a local,” Shepard paused as the corners of her mouth quirked upward, “or two, to get info of vital importance," another twitch of her lips and snickers from a few of the others, "then, by the gods, I’ll make that sacrifice," Shepard said, no longer capable of hiding the huge grin taking over her face. The others were now smiling and chuckling.

"You're an idiot," Jack said, dismissing Shepard's words with a flick of her fingers.

“Don’t forget, Rey’s in on this one,” Kasumi said. “You’ll have to be quick if you want to get good... information.”

“Who wants to bet Rey gets info before Shepard,” Vetra said with a twitch of her mandibles.

Shepard looked around the room as everyone stayed quiet. “Please,” Shepard said in dismissal, “he doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Oh. fine,” Cael said, “I’ll take that bet. 100 credits on the boss lady.” He looked over at Shepard, “If you lose, you’re paying every bit of it back to me.”

“Hurmph,” Shepard grunted and flopped back into the couch. “Sure, but don’t worry. I’m not going to lose, and then you’ll have to share your winnings with me.”

Cael tipped his head to the side in thought, “Deal.”

A chime rang overhead followed by the ships VI, “Pilot Livinius, as you requested, this announcement is to alert you that it is five minutes until the Serpent Nebula relay is in proper alignment.”

“Got it, KIT,” Cael said, rising from his seat on the large couches arm.

“Everyone, take the rest of the day,” Shepard said, “We’ll talk more when we meet up with Sloane and Rey. They’re meeting us on the Citadel tomorrow evening. Keep your ears and eyes open for any info on this. I should have more from Kessler by the time we dock at the Citadel.” Shepard pushed herself to her feet, “Go on, get out of here. Go do.... whatever.”

“Up for a game of cards, Captain,” Reza asked.

“Sure,” she looked around the dispersing crowd, “who else feels like losing credits tonight?”

"I'm out," Zaeed said, looking over to Vetra, " I would like to discuss a few potential items needed for the job with our requisitions officer."

“Sure,” Vetra said.

“I can play a few rounds while I’m waiting for those searches to finish,” Sid said, moving over to one of the couches.

“Deal me in,” Keiji said. He looked at Kasumi cuddled next to him, “You playing, babe?”

“I’ll watch,” Kasumi said on a contented exhale.

“I’m in,” Jack said, “but only so you can see what a real winner looks like, Shepard.”

“Big talk from someone who still owes me 150 credits from the last game,” Shepard said, sitting back down and waving her omni-tool across the coffee table between the couches. A second later, the table raised a few inches, and the top slid open to reveal a green, felt-top.

“I don’t pay cheaters, you cheating fuck,” Jack replied, scooting up to the table. “Now, deal out so I can kick your ass already.”


	4. Its All Fun and Games

It took the _Night Fox_ a mere second to traverse thousands of light-years to reach the Citadel. It took two hours for it to receive docking permissions, and then another hour for Citadel control to assign a docking berth and flight path. All the while, the small crew went about their business on the personal corvette.

The poker game competitors dwindled as the hours passed until only Jack and Shepard remained. Sid left to check her search engines after a few rounds. Keiji, knowing when he was outplayed, folded for the final time an hour later. He and Kas had then returned to their quarters. Reza called out when he felt the game shift to something more competitive between the two humans.

KIT, the VI, announced over the ship's comms that docking on the Citadel would occur in one hour. Reza watched, with unseen amusement, as the two humans narrowed eyes at each other, ignoring the VI's announcement. He always found it entertaining to watch Jack and Shepard when they got like this. Their similar personalities made them close friends, but the sibling-like competition that developed between them, often ended in not so friendly name-calling, or even, a small tussle. Tonight, Reza thought, as dark blue, biotic energy crackled along Jack's arms, was leaning towards the latter.

"I swear, Shepard," Jack said, "if I find out you're cheating, you are dead." Shepard had won the last handful of rounds, with decent hands no less, and Jack knew Shepard was cheating. She just couldn't figure out how, and Jack had been trying to figure out how, since she joined the crew years ago.

"Don't be a sore loser, Jack. Why would I cheat when I'm this good?" Shepard said, laying down her five cards face-up, a pair of black tens and three queens - two black, one red. The truth was that Cara Shepard hardly ever cheated - unless you consider counting cards cheating. 

Jack glared at Shepard before looking down at the cards her opponent had presented. A vicious shit-eating grin split Jack's face, and her biotics dissipated. She chuckled as she lay her cards down, one by one - eight of diamonds, nine of diamonds, ten of diamonds, Jack of diamonds- she hesitated to place the last one.

With each card placed, Shepard's eyes grew wider.

"Read'em and weep, fucker," Jack said, laying down her final card, the Queen of diamonds.

"No. Fucking. Way," Shepard said, "there's no way in hell you got a straight flush topped by the one queen I don't have."

At the look of pure disbelief on Shepard's face, Reza couldn't hold in the chuckle anymore. His laughter filled the lounge as Jack swept up her winnings, and Shepard opened and closed her mouth like a sea animal out of its dwelling. Even when Shepard narrowed her eyes and aimed them in his direction, he couldn't stop.

"Keep laughing, buddy," Shepard said, "and you'll end up on clean-up duty for the next month."

"Now who’s the sore loser. Just because you lost,” Jack taunted, ”doesn't give you the right to threaten the rest of the crew." She flipped Shepard a credit chit, "There, we should be even now." Her teeth, visible as she smiled at a pouting Shepard.

Reza had managed to settle down but started up again at Jack's cheeky attitude.

Shepard glared again at the quarian and shook her head sullenly before looking back at Jack. "I hate you, you know," Shepard said.

"I hate you, too," Jack replied, relaxing back in her seat to count her winnings.

"Cheer up, Captain," Reza said as his laughter subsided. "Just think of all the credits you have the opportunity to win back now."

A smile edged at the corner of Shepard's lips, and she hung her head to hide it. A moment later, she lifted her head, a full smile on her face, "You're right, Reza, and I'll start with yours."

"Sure, you can try," Reza said with a shrug, "but I now know you're beatable." He stood from the table, his faint but visible, glowing eyes squinted in laughter, "As much fun as this was, I have some work on the engine left to do. See you tomorrow." He exited the lounge without another sound.

KIT announced thirty minutes until docking.

The two women sat in silence, only the gentle hum of the engine between them. Shepard flopped back on the couch, resting her head on the backrest and closing her eyes. With her focus no longer on the card game, the problems with the job ran through her head again. She needed to figure out what was going on before it was too late, and one of her crew ended up incarcerated, injured, or worse. No. Don't think like that, Cara, she told herself. Everything’s going to be fine. You've got a good crew. Smart people. Nothing to worry about.

"Shut up, CJ," Jack said, not looking up from entering her winnings, " I can hear you thinking from way the fuck over here." She looked up at Shepard, who was staring at her. "Look, everything's going to be okay. We can handle ourselves. I know I said I was worried earlier, but I trust you," Jack paused, surprised at her own words, but they were true. She did trust Shepard. "So get your head out of your ass and grow a fuckin' pair. Nothing to it," Jack finished, keeping her face down to hide the blush covering her cheeks caused by all the touchy-feely shit.

Shepard was quiet for a moment longer - staring at Jack and processing her words. Her eyes twinkled, and her lips lifted at the corners, "I knew you cared. You big, kitty cat. You're just a big mushball," Shepard teased.

"I will smear the walls with you if you keep that shit up much longer, Shepard" Jack threatened, her fist glowing blue.

The lounge was quiet again, both women hiding grins. "Thanks, Jack," Shepard said, her tone earnest. "That means a lot."

Jack only shrugged in response and tilted her head in acknowledgment.

Shepard pushed herself off the back of the couch and rested her elbows on her knees, "So, you're buying drinks tonight, right, because I recently lost all my credits in a poker game."

Jack could only shake her head as she planted her feet and stood from the couch, "Fuck you, CJ. I'm not buying you anything."

"Except a new sweatshirt, right?" Shepard stood up and followed Jack down the stairs.

"Yeah, right," Jack said with a roll of her eyes that Shepard couldn't see.

"But you ruined my favorite biotiball sweatshirt," Shepard pouted and plucked at the back of the ruined shirt. She followed Jack when she turned left towards the crew quarters. "At least give me the credits to replace it myself." Shepard continued following and pestering Jack until she got to her quarters.

"Fine, you ass," Jack said, stopping to palm open her door, "I'll buy you a drink. Now, fuck off, so I can get ready."

"Anything for you, Jack," Shepard said with a grin, moving in the direction of her quarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard exited her quarters cleaned and dressed for a night out on the Citadel.

The VI once again announced the docking time - three minutes. Shepard traversed the short distance from her quarters to the helm, where Cael sat maneuvering the corvette with expertise. He weaved through the heavy traffic with ease as he headed to the docking port. "Any trouble?" Shepard asked.

"No," Cael said, "smooth sailing, as you humans say." He approached the small area sectioned off for the ship. Two dock attendants flagged them down and helped guide the _Night Fox_ into the slip.

"Good work," Shepard said, patting his shoulder, "don't stay and work all night. Get out and have some fun."

"Don’t worry about me, Shepard," Cael said, his skillful fingers moving with deft precision across the haptic controls, “Sid and I were going to catch a movie.”

"Huh,” Shepard said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. “Does Vetra know about this?" She knew Sid liked to test her older sister’s patience by sneaking off the ship. Usually with another team member, but it still irked Vetra.

Cael’s mandibles tightened against his jaw before fluttering in, what Shepard thought, was nervousness, “Sid said it was fine.”

After a moment of allowing Cael to squirm, Shepard said, “Don’t worry, it probably is.” She squeezed his shoulder, “You two have fun, and keep a close eye on the kid.” She left the bridge, muttering, “While you still can,” under her breath. A few steps later, Shepard arrived at the airlock and pressed the open button.

The doors slid open, revealing Jack leaning against the wall waiting. "It's about time you showed up, CJ. I thought I was going to have to start the night without you."

"We haven't even been cleared for release yet, Jack-Ass."

"Come up with that one all on your own, did ya," Jack said, crossing her arms across her chest.

Shepard grinned at her and leaned against the opposite wall. "Anyone else joining us tonight?" Shepard asked.

"Kas and Keiji might if they can manage to stay away from each other for five minutes to get ready. Vetra and Reza are finishing up the final touches on the engine upgrade. Sid said she has plans already. Haven’t seen the old man."

"Yeah, Sid’s convinced Cael to take her to the movies,” Shepard said, smiling when she saw Jack raise an eyebrow.

“Vetra’s okay with that?” Jack asked.

Cara grinned and shrugged then continued, “The old man’s been grumpy lately,” another shrug, “don’t know what that’s about.”

“Decontamination has paused”, KIT instructed them, and the ship's inner door opened. Kas and Keiji entered the airlock, and the door closed behind them. “Decontamination process restarted,” KIT said.

"Nice of you to join us," Jack said, smirking at the dark marks Keiji casually tried to cover, "I like the new body art, Keiji."

The Japanese man blushed but gave her a smirk of his own. He looked to Shepard, "So, where are we going tonight. I hear there's a new place called Flux. It's supposed to be nice, but it's run by a volus. Could be pricey."

"What about Chora's Den?" Kas asked.

"We're not allowed back after last time," Shepard said with a shrug.

"Remember that turian's face when we both started glowing," Jack said, a smile raising the corners of her mouth, and her eyelids fluttering in blissful remembrance, "man, that was a good time. Those fuckers never stood a chance."

"Yeah, and those dancers were very appreciative afterward," Shepard said with a full-toothed grin.

Jack rolled her eyes at Shepard, then added, "And we got free drinks, right up until we got kicked out - five minutes later." She pushed off the wall as the VI announced the end of the decontamination process.

The outer doors to the docks finally opened, and the four friends exited the airlock with Shepard in the lead. She looked over her shoulder, "What about Blueshift?"

"NO!," the other three said together, causing Shepard to stop and turn to look at them. The surprised and startled expression on Shepard's face made them all snicker.

"Geez, okay," Shepard said, holding up her hands, "not Blueshift."

"I'm not going to spend my night in a club, crowded with horny males, so you can look at the fucking asari eye candy, Shepard," Jack said. "I say we give this Flux place a try, and if it doesn't work, we can hit Pulsar."

"Sure, Flux is fine. You're still paying for me, right?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, you cheap-ass," Jack growled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The thumping bass from the club’s music hummed through their chests as they approached the entrance to Flux. "Nice," Shepard said when they got to the open doorway. Four pairs of eyes combed the club.

"Seats available halfway to the back there," Keiji pointed. "Kas and I'll save them, you get the drinks."

“I’m only buying Shepard’s drinks. You two have to pay for yourselves,” Jack said with a scowl.

“Oh, calm down, Jack. We aren’t cheap like Shep,” Kasumi said, flipping Jack a credit chit.

She caught it and slipped it into one of her many pants’ pockets as Shepard protested with a grin, “Hey! I resemble that remark.”

“Shut up,” Jack said with a shove to Shepard’s shoulder. “The bar looks clear. Let’s go before it crowds up again.”

Flux was a nice enough place. The dance floor was a little too small for Shepard's tastes, but the beautiful women on it made up for that defect. She currently danced with one of those beautiful women, a dark-haired beauty, of Asian descent. She was some kind of journalist - from what Shepard remembered of their brief conversation. The important detail, however, was that she could move on the dance floor.

The song faded, and Shepard leaned close to the journalist's ear, "I'm going for a drink, do you want one?" When the woman nodded, she took her by the hand and led her away from the crowded floor.

The two approached the bar, and the journalist was greeted by the bartender, "Emily, good to see you. Your usual?"

"Please," Emily said, "and it's nice to see you too, Rita."

"And for you gorgeous," Rita asked Shepard with a leer.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at the brash human woman before looking at Emily, who was rolling her eyes. She stepped closer to Emily and wrapped an arm around her waist, "I'll have an Ice Brandy."

Rita shrugged and left to get their drinks.

"Friend of yours?" Shepard whispered into Emily’s ear.

Shepard felt Emily shiver before responding. "Eh, we dated for a moment, and on occasion,” Emily shrugged, looking up a Shepard, “we enjoy each other's company."

“Hmm,” was all Shepard said, pulling Emily closer to her side.

“Is that going to be a problem,” Emily asked.

“Not at all,” Shepard nuzzled Emily’s ear, “I’m here looking for a little fun, and we’re having fun, right?” Shepard moved to look into Emily’s eyes.

“Absolutely,” Emily said, a bit breathless.

“Well then, no problem,” Shepard gave a charming smile.

Rita returned with their drinks, winking at them, then turned to the next customer. Shepard looked over to Emily, “Should I worry about my drink?”

Emily giggled, “Not at all. Rita’s just a flirt.”

Shepard scanned her credit chit, then offered Emily her arm and escorted her back to their table. It was empty except for her leather jacket and a few half-empty cups. She spotted Kas and Keiji on the dance floor as she pulled Emily’s seat out for her. Grabbing her own seat, she looked for Jack.

“Hey, isn’t that your friend?” Emily asked, pointing to a corner booth with a very large krogan and two C-Sec guards, one human and one turian.

Shepard looked to where she pointed, and sure enough, there was Jack. Shepard dropped her head into her hands, “Yeah.”

“Is she going to be okay? Shouldn’t you help her or something?”

“Not for the reason you think.” Shepard took a large gulp of her drink. “Excuse me.” Shepard pushed away from the table and moved deeper into the club, where Jack sat across from the krogan in a booth on the back wall.

As she approached, she could hear the human C-Sec officer saying, “Wrex, you’re going to have to come with us.”

Wrex grinned wide, showing hundreds of sharp teeth, and chuckled - an unfriendly noise. He knocked back the drink he had before replying, “I don’t think so.”

"Come on now, don't make us use force," the turian C-Sec officers said.

"You and what other pyjaks are going to make me if I don't," Wrex said, standing up to look down upon the C-Sec officers. Jack stayed slouched in the booth. Her back rested against the wall, one leg stretched out over the seat. One arm rested along the back of it, while her other hand twirled the glass of whiskey she had with a casualness that was anything but - a smirk played on her lips as she watched the show.

"Don't be like that, Wrex," the human C-Sec officer said, glancing over to the krogan's tattooed guest. "We need to ask a few questions."

Wrex sat back down and indicated to the waitress for another round, "Go ahead, ask your questions."

The C-Sec officers looked at one another, the turian shrugged while the human shook his head. The turian motioned his partner away from the table, and the two officers took a few steps back to discuss their options.

Wrex chuckled and looked up, spotting Shepard, "Shepard! Glad you could join us."

"Hey, Wrex," Shepard said, knocking Jack's leg off the seat and sliding in next to her. She ignored Jack's glare. "Making friends with C-Sec already?"

"Heh, what can I say," Wrex said.

"Assholes," Jack mumbled, before taking a sip of her whiskey.

"Heh," Wrex chuckled again. "I'm here for a job, and they want to make sure I'm not going to cause problems."

"Are you?" Shepard asked with a grin, knowing the trouble the krogan could cause.

"Nah, not this one, just dropping off some intel, but it's fun to watch them squirm."

Both Jack and Shepard chuckled at this. Shepard leaned forward with her elbows on the table,

"Hey, speaking of, I got some intel recently the crew is a bit suspicious about." Shepard saw the C-Sec officers approaching out of the corner of her eye, "Maybe we can talk later?"

"Yeah, okay," Wrex said, an interested gleam in his eye, "don't do anything I wouldn't."

Shepard stood from her seat, her mouth twitching up at the corners, "That's a short list, Wrex." She disappeared back into the crowd.

Wrex chuckled, then glared up at the officers as they reached the table, "You going to ask your questions, or am I going to have to bust a few heads."

The feral grin curling the tattooed human’s mouth caused the human to grimace. The turian tightened his mandibles against his jaw, saying, "Just show up at C-Sec headquarters first thing tomorrow morning, Wrex."

"If I feel like it," Wrex replied.

The turian's mandibles twitched in irritation but accepted that was the best they were going to get from the krogan. He tapped the human officer on the shoulder, and they turned and left.

Shepard returned to her table, glad to see Emily hadn't left, "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Emily said, finishing her drink, "Your friend, okay?"

Shepard sat down and downed the rest of her drink before answering, "Oh sure, Jack's fine. Do you wanna dance some more?"

"I thought maybe we could do something else," Emily said, a coy smile playing across her lips.

Shepard raised an eyebrow, leaning closer, "I'm listening. What did you have in mind?"

"My apartment isn't too far from here," Emily said. "I've got a bottle of thessian red we could open."

A dimpled smile spread across Shepard's face, "I'm liking this idea more and more." Shepard stood up from her seat and removed her leather jacket from the back of it, folding it over her arm. "Lead the way, beautiful." She helped Emily out of her seat and offered her arm. 

Emily latched on to Shepard's arm and tugged her towards the door. When they got to the transit station, Shepard managed to get off a quick message to the crew, indicating her whereabouts before Emily distracted her, first with wandering hands then with her lips.


	5. Until Someone Drinks all the Ryncol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late posting. Lost track of the time with the holidays. Oh, and Happy Holidays!

Shepard arrived back at the ship early the next morning. When she entered the galley, a dark blue asari was eating breakfast with Zaeed. “Dauna,” Shepard said with a grin, “I’m glad you could join us.” She reached the asari’s seat at the table and bent down to wrap her arms around Dauna's shoulders from behind in a hug. Cara placed a kiss on Dauna's temple, then made a beeline for the coffee dispenser. She looked over to Zaeed, "Good morning."

"If you say so," Zaeed said.

"Not if you’re getting back this early," La'Dauna said, a smirk on her lips, “and it’s good to see you too, hon.”

Shepard leaned her hip against the counter as the coffee brewed. She shrugged her shoulders at La'Dauna and stuck out her tongue. "She had to get to work. Something about a story on traffic controllers."

"Sure, kid," La'Dauna said, a smile playing at her lips, "that's just what she told you."

"The comm number she gave me says otherwise," Shepard said, turning to pour herself a cup of fresh coffee. She sipped the hot drink, enjoying the aroma as it hit her nose but wished they had cream to cut the bitter taste. Joining the two at the table, she asked, "When did you board, Dauna?"

“Last night,” La'Dauna said, taking a sip of her tea.

“You should have pinged me,” Shepard said, “We checked out Flux last night.”

“La'Dauna got tickets from one of her patients for _Starless_ ’s tenth anniversary extended cut,” Zaeed said, “we went to that last night.”

“That gothic horror flick they did?” Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow at La'Dauna as she took another drink of her coffee.

"Yeah,” La'Dauna said, a frown on her face. The frown turned into a scowl that scrunched up the white facial markings adorning her forehead, “I had forgotten how much I hated it the first time. Ninety extra minutes of crap didn't improve my original opinion on the thing.”

Zaeed grunted, "It’s a classic, Dauna. A cinematic masterpiece. The sets alone are breathtaking."

Zaeed, what an old softy, Shepard thought, doing her best to hide a smirk from her lips.

"Only because Faringor lacks atmosphere," La'Dauna grumbled.

Shepard took another drink of her coffee to hide her smile, deciding it was best to keep her face hidden while this conversation played out.

"You wouldn’t know good media if Athame hit you on the guddam ass with it," Zaeed grumbled.

"If Athame was hitting me on the ass," La'Dauna said with a leer, "there’s every chance I would have no reason to care why."

Shepard was in mid-sip and just kept from spitting her coffee all over her breakfast companions as she burst out in laughter. As it was, her burst of laughter turned into an instant coughing fit when the coffee she attempted to swallow was inhaled instead.

"Goddess, Shepard, get it together," La'Dauna said.

Shepard managed a breath, "Oh, yeah don't" *cough* "worry about the human" *cough, cough* "dying over here."

"You humans are so dramatic," La'Dauna said, taking a sip of her tea. She watched Shepard heave in a deep breath, "See you're fine."

Shepard took a small sip of her coffee to help clear her throat, then glared at La'Dauna. "Now I am," she said, "no thanks to you. Some doctor you are."

"You were fine," La'Dauna said, waving her hand as she leaned back in her chair. "You were coughing and breathing, so how about you let me be the doctor. You worry about this big mission you've got coming up."

Shepard groaned and let her head drop back, "Don't remind me. This one is becoming a pain in the ass." Shepard straightened and looked over to a smirking La'Dauna, and grinned, "And not the good kind, you old wench."

All three had a good chuckle then continued catching up with each other. As it grew later, other members of the crew began making their way into the kitchen for breakfast, adding their thoughts to the conversation. When the galley began crowding, Shepard found her way into the living area. By 9:00 AM, everyone except Jack was present either in the kitchen or the living area.

"Hey, anyone seen Jack?" Shepard asked loud enough to bring all conversation to a halt and draw everyone to the living area. "Kas, Keiji, she come back with you two last night?"

A series of "noes" made their way around the room before Kas confirmed that Jack hadn't come back with them. She had still been with Wrex when they left.

"Shit," Shepard said, at the same time, Zaeed said, "That's not good." A moment later, Shepard's comm pinged. She opened it, hoping it was Jack. It wasn't, but it was a message from Wrex saying, her biotic had crashed on his couch, and she needed to come get her. _She can't handle ryncol as well as she thought._ Shepard swiped her hand across her face and groaned, "Wrex."

"What’d the big bastard do this time?" Zaeed asked.

"Let Jack have ryncol," Shepard said. She tapped away at her omni, responding to Wrex's message, _Wrex, if you weren’t one of the oldest alive of a dying race, I'd kick your ass. I'll head over to get her now. Where are you staying? We still meeting later?_

She received an immediate response. _Heh, you've got a quad, Shepard. Bachjret lower ward, you know the place. Let me finish with these pyjaks in C-Sec, then I'll get back to you._

"Okay," Shepard said to everyone, "I've got to go get Jack," she looked over to Zaeed, "I might need your help."

"Krogan jackass," Zaeed growled. "Yeah, sure."

"Sid, you and Reza, go get those parts," Shepard said, then looked to Cael, "anything you need to get?"

"There're a few things that we could use, but aren't necessary," Cael said.

"Go ahead and go with them," she pointed to Sid and Reza, "and grab whatever you think would be useful," Shepard said. She looked around the room to who remained, "La’Dauna, you got all the medical stuffs you need?"

"Yeah, I checked everything when I got on last night," La'Dauna said.

"Good," Shepard looked around, "anyone else need to do any shopping? Vetra? Keiji, Kas?"

The rest answered in the negative.

"All right, what're everyone else's plans?" Shepard asked.

Vetra answered first, "I was going to see if I could hunt down info on those new first-aid armor mods. Sloane sent a packet to me last night about them. I figure with how many bullets you attract, Shepard, they would be useful."

"What can I say, Vee," Shepard said with a wink, "when you've got it, you've got it." Most of the crew rolled their eyes or groaned.

La'Dauna deadpanned, "What's 'it'? A death wish," and received chuckles all around.

"Okay, all right, geez," Shepard said. "Let me know what you find out on those, Vee. Wrex may be able to help if you hit a wall on your hunt."

"Thanks, Cara," Vetra said.

"Okay, so you two," Shepard looked to Keiji and Kas, “what's on the itinerary for today?"

"Kas and I were going to meet with a couple of old friends who could have more on this artifact we're looking to procure," Keiji answered.

"If there's nothing new, I was going to see about getting into the Council’s records," Kas said, "see if anything comes up there."

"Kas, let's hold up on that until I talk to Wrex, and hear from Kessler. Bastard still hasn't gotten back to me," Shepard said, "No point in taking an unnecessary risk."

"You're no fun sometimes, Shep," Kas said, pushing her lower lip out in a pout.

"Don't worry Kas, there will be plenty of fun to have later," Shepard assured her with a grin.

Shepard addressed the crew, "Let's get moving people. I've set up dinner this evening at The Little Tower. We'll meet at 6:45 and go over anything new we find. Sloane and Reyes should be there, also. Any questions?"

No one had any, and most of the crew dispersed after that, each group or individual heading off to take care of their assigned tasks. Shepard pushed herself up from the couch, looking over to Zaeed. "You ready to go, old man?"

"Watch yourself, Cara, I can still put you through your paces if it's needed," Zaeed said. He pushed himself up and stretched, groaning as a few bones popped back into place. He glanced over to La'Dauna, who had grabbed a _Tales to Amaze_ magazine and was flipping through it. "You coming with us, doll," Zaeed asked, "I can guarantee it'll be more fun than that thing."

La'Dauna looked up from her perusal with a raised brow and narrowed eyes aimed at Zaeed. "I know you did not just call me, Doll," La'Dauna said, tossing the magazine back onto the table and standing. She stepped towards Zaeed, who took a half-step backward. "You're goddess blessed you're decent enough to look at, or I would warp your ass into next week, then put you back together only so I could do it again."

"Come on now, Dauna," Zaeed said, holding his hands up to placate the glaring asari, "don't be like that. You know I meant no disrespect."

"That's another reason you're not screaming in pain," La'Dauna said as she walked by him and winked at Shepard. She stopped in the doorway, waiting on the two humans. Shepard was smirking at a chagrined Zaeed. "Let's go you two before people have to start calling me Matriarch."

Shepard chuckled as she followed La'Dauna, Zaeed not far behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trio arrived at Wrex's apartment, making good time. Shepard keyed in the door lock code, and it slid open. The place was spartan in decor. A large couch, which Jack was passed out on. A few tables covered in weapon mods. A desk with an advanced computer setup. Wrex traveled light and never stayed in one place for long, but the Citadel was often a frequent stop for him. He'd bought the apartment for when he had business here at the Citadel.

"All right, people, let's do this," Shepard said, keeping her voice low. She pulled up a biotic barrier as she approached Jack. As they had discussed on the way over, La'Dauna, who followed Shepard into the apartment, did the same. Zaeed stayed in the hall to make sure no one got nosey and interfered with the loud noises that were sure to occur inside the apartment.

Shepard stopped a yard away from the couch and checked on her companions. "Here goes nothing," she said in a low voice, letting them know she was going to proceed. She took the remaining two steps to the side of the couch and crouched down. She took a deep breath, readying herself before saying, "Jack, time to rise and shine."

The sleeping woman stirred but didn't wake.

Raising a hand, she placed it on Jack's shoulder and gave her a small, gentle shake as she repeated, "Jack, rise and shine."

A strong biotic pulse expanded out from Jack as she sprang into a sitting position. A disoriented and enraged look on her face. The pulse knocked Shepard to her back and staggered La'Dauna. One of the tables toppled over, sending pieces of mods scattering across the ground.

"Damn," Shepard said as she scooted back and, once again, got into a crouch.

"A bad one," Zaeed called in from the doorway.

"No, kidding," Shepard said. She glanced over her shoulder to glare in Zaeed's direction, before refocusing on a biotically glowing, Jack. "La'Dauna, you good?" Shepard asked.

"I'm fine, Cara. Focus on the pissed-off biotic, and hurry and get her head on right before this goes bad."

Jack had stood and was now glaring at the room. Her teeth bared in anger. "I will destroy you!" she yelled as she slung her hand forward and back, using a biotic pull on an invisible assailant.

The pull had come close to Shepard, who managed to move out of the way in time, "It's Shepard, Jack. You're safe."

Jack turned her focus onto Shepard, which, despite the look of fury in Jack's eyes, is what Cara had wanted. Cara stood and planted her feet, shoring up her barriers, knowing what was coming next. Jack unleashed a shockwave that hit with the force of a small vehicle. Shepard's barriers absorbed most of the energy, but it still smarted and stumbled her back a couple of steps. She was most definitely going to be sore later. "Jack, you're safe. It's Shepard. Just chill the fuck out, okay," Cara kept her voice calm and light.

Jack growled and stalked towards her, biotics still wisping around her wiry form, but they were weaker than a moment ago.

"That's it, Jack, you're safe," Shepard said, keeping calm. Jack rocked back on her heels as she cocked her arm back, bringing it forward with biotic force towards Shepard's head. "Shit," Shepard cursed as she ducked out of the way. "Come on, Jack," she mumbled to herself as she got behind Jack.

Jack spun around, ready to attack again. She let loose a wild shockwave that missed Shepard by inches but knocked over the couch, and a lamp next to it.

"Jack, it's Shepard. We're on the Citadel at Wrex's place, you're safe," Shepard saw Jack hesitate. "You're safe. In Wrex's apartment."

Jack tilted her head and looked around the haze of anger fading from her.

"That's it, Jack," Shepard encouraged, "You're safe." Another biotic blast hit Shepard, knocking her backward. She tripped over debris from the shockwave, catching herself from falling to the ground. "Damn it, Jack. You bitch."

Jack was smiling, with her arms crossed, "Thanks, CJ."

"Nice way to show your appreciation," Shepard said, narrowing her eyes at Jack.

"Glad you're back with us, Jack," La'Dauna said, her barrier fading. A relieved look on her face.

Jack turned with a grin on her face, "Dauna, you're back. Get tired of patching up stubbed toes and wiping snotty noses?"

"Like you wouldn't believe, kid. I've never been so bored in my life, and I've lived for over half a millennium."

Shepard joined Jack at her side and made eye contact. She received a tilt of the head in response, letting her know Jack was good. Shepard gave Jack a light shove on the shoulder and pushed past her towards the door. "Let's go. We've got things to take care of today." She turned to La'Dauna, "You're more than welcome to join us. I've got to run down a few contacts and see if I can't find Kessler, the bastard."

"I'll tag along for a moment. You always get yourself into the best kinds of trouble."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard rolled her eyes and exited the apartment. Zaeed was lounging against the wall with his arms crossed, watching passersby.

"She okay?" Zaeed said, stepping in beside Shepard as she passed.

"Seems like it," Shepard answered her brow furrowed, "If I ever come across those Cerberus bastards, I'll enjoy putting them down."

"You and me both. Guddam monsters, experimenting on children like that," Zaeed said, an angered growl in his voice.

Shepard nodded her agreement as she heard Jack and La'Dauna approaching and talking about Jack's new tattoo. She waited until they were close before she told them her plan, "I'm gonna have a chat with Morlan, see if he knows why Kessler isn't answering. I'm hoping by the time I finish with him, Wrex will have contacted me."

"What are we supposed to do?" Jack asked.

"You, nothing. I would send you back to the ship if I thought you would go there," Shepard said, ignoring the glare she received from Jack. Cara was still annoyed with her for drinking ryncol, knowing the effect it had on her. "La'Dauna can help me lean on Morlan. Zaeed, I need you to go talk to Fist. I'm not allowed in there for the foreseeable future."

"Then, what?" Jack said, raising her hands and dropping them to her sides. "I stand there like a girl scout, Shepard?"

"No," Shepard said as she tapped away at her comm, waiting for it to chirp in response, "Vetra's at the markets, and you are going with her. Get anything we may need for the mission."

Jack groaned, "Just put me out of my fucking misery now, won't you CJ. Shopping? I fucking hate shopping."

Shepard spun around, causing Jack to almost run into her. She narrowed her eyes, looking straight into Jack's. Cara couldn't keep the anger from her voice when she said, "Maybe you'll remember that the next time you want to drink ryncol, Jack."

Jack glared back at Shepard’s narrowed eyes and squared up in a defensive posture, hands forming into fists.

Zaeed broke the tension, “We were worried about you, kid.”

Jack looked into Shepard’s eyes again and saw the concern mixed with the anger. She broke eye contact, lowering her head, relaxing her hands. “Yeah, well, I was a fucking dumbass, okay.”

Shepard sighed, letting her anger go for now, and gave Jack a friendly shove on the shoulder, “But, you’re our fucking dumbass. Now, let’s go, we’ve got things to do.” That earned a small smirk from the other members and a return shove from Jack, then they continued on their way.


	6. Dead Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An apology for the late post, and a gift for the holidays. Enjoy!

Morlan was a bust. He hadn’t known anything new about Kessler but promised to contact Shepard as soon as he heard anything. La'Dauna had left afterward to take care of a few, last-minute details for her clinic on the Citadel. It was approaching midday, and she still hadn’t received word from Wrex.  Damn, C-Sec , she thought.

Zaeed met her near the lower markets with little more success. Fist had a contact he was going to get in touch with for them. “Oh, and he said, you’re not getting back in until he gets compensation for the items, and people, he had to replace when you wrecked the club,” Zaeed told Shepard.

“He’ll get over it. There’s plenty of other places I can give my business to,” Shepard replied, her lips quirking up at the edges.

Silence passed between the two as they leaned against the side railing, watching passersby. “Well, I’m hungry,” Shepard said. She looked over to Zaeed, who was staring off into space, “Wanna grab a bite, then, if we don't hear from Wrex by the time we finish, we can go see if we can’t help him out at C-Sec.”

“Beats what we’re doing now,” Zaeed said, pushing off from the column.

“Where’re we going?” Shepard asked.

“Wanna try one of them fancy places on the Presidium,” Zaeed asked.

Shepard cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Didn’t think so,” Zaeed sighed. “How ‘bout Way Station. Their burgers almost taste like real beef.”

“Sure,” Shepard said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard’s communicator chirped as they sat down to order. She looked at the sender and saw it was Wrex.

_ Damn, pyjaks made me wait two hours to talk to them. I might have some info for you. Meet at my place in an hour and a half. Gotta make that delivery. _

“Wrex can meet with us after he finishes his job. We have time to eat then get over to his place,” Shepard told Zaeed, who was looking at the menu.

“Good, cause I’m not leaving until I have one of these Terran burgers,” Zaeed said. “And a basket of their chili fries.”

“That sounds good,” Shepard agreed, “but no tomato, or whatever tomato substitute they have here, on mine. Oh, and a milkshake, chocolate flavor, and an order of those peppers with the cheese and wrapped in bacon.” She glanced over the menu once more, “And a cobb salad with grilled chicken, extra dressing.”

Zaeed gave her a wide-eyed look and asked with sarcasm, "That all?" before placing the order on the terminal attached to the table.

“Your order will be out shortly,” the terminal chimed after Zaeed hit send.

"You try taking a biotic hit from a pissed-off Jack," Shepard said.

"That's why I have you around, Cara," Zaeed said.

"Ass," Shepard muttered.

"Guddam right," Zaeed said, the left side of his mouth curving upward.

"So, what kind of info is Fist's guy supposed to have," Shepard asked as she reached for the salt and pepper shakers.

"Fist said he's heard asking around about prothean artifacts," Zaeed said, relaxing back into the booth seat. "Said it's for someone with a lot of reach." Zaeed crossed his arms and looked at Cara, "This job just sounds better and better, Cara."

"Yeah," Shepard said, fiddling with the shakers, "I'm gonna let Kessler have it as soon as he gets back to me. Bastard."

Zaeed watched Cara fiddle with the shakers and saw the concern the action tried to cover. Kessler was a bastard, but he always answered calls. That he hadn't, worried Zaeed as well. "Well, he better have a guddam good reason for disappearing."

The conversation halted when the waitress set down their plates, “If you need anything else, my name’s Ora.”

“Thanks, Ora,” Shepard said, sending an amiable smile to the waitress. The waitress returned it with a polite smile and left to help another patron.

“Keep it in your pants, Shepard,” Zaeed said, grabbing his burger and taking a large bite.

“What? I was just being polite,” Shepard said before taking a bite of her own burger.

Zaeed rolled his eyes midbite, and the conversation between the two fell to the wayside as they dug into their meals.

Shepard was halfway through her chili fries when her communicator chirped. Checking it, she saw it was a message from Morlan. "Morlan just got back to me," she told Zaeed when he gave her a questioning look. She glanced over the message, "Hmm. It seems that Kessler is missing," Shepard said.

"We already knew that," Zaeed said, taking a drink of the beer he'd ordered.

"Yeah," Shepard agreed, "but his place looks like it's been tossed," Shepard said, " and no one else has heard from him in a couple of days.

"Better and better," Zaeed said.

"We need to get to Wrex's, maybe he has more info," Shepard said, shoving a couple more fries in her mouth. "I'll take the rest to go," she told Zaeed as she waved over the waitress.

"Is everything okay," the waitress asked when she arrived.

"Perfect," Shepard said with a wink, causing the waitress to blush, "My eyes were just too big for my stomach. Can we get a bag to take the rest with us?"

Less than ten minutes later, they were on their way back to Wrex’s apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived before Wrex had returned, so Shepard let them in and shot a message off to Wrex, letting him know they were waiting for him inside. Shepard looked at the mess from earlier, and having nothing else to do, began picking it up. Zaeed found a spot against the wall and relaxed against it, watching her.

"So," Zaeed said, "Is this job still worth it?"

Shepard only shrugged, putting the tipped over table back right and setting her bag of leftovers on it. The room was quiet for a moment before she answered, "I don't think we can really know until we see the place for ourselves. Even with all the nonsense going down. From the intel, the job practically runs itself, and its 55 million credits.”

Zaeed grunted in response.

"Don't get me wrong," Shepard said, using her biotics to pick up the krogan size couch, "that much money is no good to a dead person, as I've already said, but this is a good crew. They're smart and cautious. Jack is our wild card, and even she isn't rash enough to do anything to get thrown in prison."

"Unless it's Cerberus," Zaeed said.

"Unless it's Cerberus," Shepard agreed. She sunk into the couch after she'd grabbed her leftovers, "Gods, I hope it's not Cerberus." She reached into the bag and pulled out her salad. The room filled with thoughtful silence as she ate, and Zaeed continued to lean against the wall.

Zaeed finally broke the silence, "I think I've got a pretty good plan set up if our recon goes well. We have a short window. The intel says there's an early morning shift, 0300, when they have a two-man team guarding the artifact. Depending on the size, we should be able to lift it then. Weapons will be stunners and concussive. Keep casualties to a minimum."

Shepard nodded as she shoved another bite of salad in her mouth. “You think a three-man team will work?”

“Five, maybe six to be safe,” Zaeed said. “Two or three for retrieval. The others will be lookouts.”

“Don’t you find it strange that they don’t have an ID on the artifact? For all we know, we’re trying to steal a building,” Shepard said.

“Seems par for the course on this job,” Zaeed said, rubbing at the two-day stubble on his cheek.

The door to Wrex’s apartment slid open, revealing an annoyed Wrex. “Shepard,” Wrex said with a nod, “good, you brought your old man.”

Shepard chuckled at Zaeed’s narrowed eyes. “Even the krogan thinks you’re old.”

“Jackass,” Zaeed mumbled.

“Heh,” Wrex chuckled, going over to the computer terminal in the corner. “Jack okay?” he asked.

Shepard frowned, “For now. What the hell are you giving her ryncol for anyway? You know that fucks with her mind.”

“Little pyjak took mine when I went to use the little krogan’s room,” Wrex said. “She’s worried more than she lets on about this job you’ve got.”

“Shit,” Shepard said, setting her unfinished salad aside. "She say something?" Shepard asked, leaning forward, bracing her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands together.

"Nothing clear," Wrex said, “I scented it on her.” He gave Shepard a squinty-eyed look, “Kinda similar to yours but stronger.”

Damn it, Jack, Shepard thought, gonna have to talk with her before the meeting tonight. Cara sighed, “Okay, thanks, Wrex. What’ve you got for us?”

“It’s about your guy, Kessler,” Wrex said, tapping away at his terminal’s haptic interface, “he’s dead.”

Both Zaeed and Shepard straightened at the news, “What? When?”

“That’s the good news,” Wrex said.

“How is that good news?” Shepard asked before Wrex could say more.

“Because the bad news is he’s been dead for at least a week,” Wrex said, looking at the information on the screen he brought up, “which means, he didn’t send you that job.”

“Guddam better and better,” Zaeed said.

“Who did?” Shepard asked.

“Not the Shadow Broker,” Wrex said, “which was my first thought. There’s no info on who did send it. They covered their tracks well enough that the Broker’s best couldn’t trace it.”

"Well, fuck," Shepard said, collapsing back into the couch’s cushions. She looked over to Zaeed, who had a frown on his face. "All right. Thanks for the heads up, Wrex."

"I'll send you what I got from Kessler's computers. Maybe Kasumi or her pet can get something," Wrex said.

"You tossed Kessler's place?" Shepard asked, head cocking to the side in confusion. "How?"

"Nah, I had a trusted contact do it," Wrex said. "I'm good, Shepard, but even I can't make it to Omega and back in less than five hours.” Wrex gave her a sideways look, “How’d you know his place got tossed?”

“Morlan.”

“How’d he know?”

“One of his contacts, I guess. I went to see him this morning. He said he’d keep his ears open. Where’d you find Kessler’s body?”

“Found him in his skycar. Looked like he was strangled.” Wrex tapped a couple more keys then sat back.

“Shit,” Shepard said again as her omni chirped. “All right, I’ll get this to Kas and Keiji, see what they can find.” She opened up her omni-tool and began tapping out a message. “Zaeed’s got feelers out with Fist.”

Wrex growled at the bar owner’s name, “Careful with him, Shepard. That one doesn’t smell right.”

Shepard stopped her typing to look at the krogan, a question on her lips. Yeah, Fist was seedy as fuck, but his info had always been good. But then again, it never hurt to be safe, especially since they were no longer sure who had sent them this job. “Got it, Wrex,” Shepard replied instead, finishing her message, then grabbing her unfinished salad, “any other bombs you wanna drop on us.”

“Nah, that’s it,” Wrex said, pushing away from the computer setup.

Zaeed shoved off the wall, “I’ve got a job for you, Wrex. If you want.”

“Sure, old man,” Wrex said, receiving a growl from the male human, "heh, every time.”

Shepard ignored the two and dug into her salad. She wondered how the crew would react. Should she even tell them? She knew Vetra wouldn’t like it because of all the unknowns. Not to mention someone killed Kessler to send this job to them. Which brought Shepard to her next question, Why us? There had to be other crews out there who were better suited.

Not to mention, Shepard thought, the amount of intel, with as detailed and abundant as it was, could they not have done it themselves. Shepard shook her head, plausible deniability if things go wrong. Her fork scraped the bottom of her salad dish, drawing her out of her musings. Cara took a deep breath then let it out, slow. She let go of her rampaging thoughts.

“Hey,” Shepard called out, causing Zaeed to look her way, “you about done? I need to get back and talk to Jack before tonight, and you need to check back with Fist.”

“Yeah,” Zaeed said, looking back to the screen, “I’m done.” He nodded to Wrex in thanks, telling him, “Send me what you’ve got. I’ll wire the credits tomorrow.”

Shepard looked at him curiously but didn’t say anything. She pushed up from the couch, taking her trash. “Thanks again, Wrex.”

“Don’t mention it,” Wrex said then turned to Shepard, narrowing his eyes, “Really. Don’t mention it. It makes me look soft, helping a squishy thing like you.”

“Love you, too, big guy,” Shepard said with a grin. She tossed her hand up and waved as she and Zaeed made their way to the door. She heard Wrex’s growl as they hit the walkway outside the apartment.

Shepard chuckled then looked over to Zaeed, "What was that about?"

Zaeed was quiet for a moment, "Vido."

Shepard nodded and let the subject drop. She knew about Vido, and what he'd done to Zaeed. She understood Zaeed's need for vengeance. She felt the same for the batarians who killed her family. He would tell her more when he felt like it. "Okay, I'll see you at dinner. I need to have that chat with Jack. Wish me luck."

"You're gonna need more than luck," Zaeed chuckled. "See you later."

They split ways at the transit terminal and proceeded to their destinations.


	7. Heart to Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a shorter chapter, but don't worry you'll get another in the next couple of days. The holidays have given me extra time on my hands. :)

The ride was quick. Shepard hoped that Jack and Vetra were still shopping. She needed more time to figure out how to approach Jack. Her hopes were dashed when she entered the ship and heard them discussing details for loadouts.

She gave them a nod as she joined them, “How’d everything go? Did you find those armor mods?” she asked Vetra.

“I managed to track down a couple at a med-center. The doctor there, Dr. Michel, said she should have more by the end of next week.”

“Has Cael and the rest of them returned yet? Maybe he can take a look at one and see what he can do about replicating it.”

“Sid, messaged me, about ten minutes ago. They’ll be back soon. I’ll have him take a look. I’ll hook the other up to your armor. I figure you’re taking lead on this one?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Shepard said, then thought for a moment, “actually, where’s La'Dauna? Is she back yet?”

“Down in medbay.”

“Okay, have her look at the other. See if she and Cael can come up with something that will work for all the suits. Any advantage in first aid will help, considering our lack of medics. Which reminds me, we need to find someone with medic and combat skills. Can you put Sid on that, after this job is finished?”

“Sure. Anything else?”

“When you two finish, I need Jack for something.”

Vetra looked at Jack, who looked at Shepard. “Give us five minutes,” Jack said.

“I’ll be up in the lounge. Find me when you’re done,” Shepard said, turning towards the stairs and leaving them to conclude their conversation.

The lounge was empty. Everyone else was off getting gear or preparing for the dinner that night. Shepard went to the galley and grabbed a few of the protein bars they kept on hand, tucking them away into one of her pants’ many pockets. Sometimes being a biotic sucked. She grabbed another and went to wait on the couch, peeling the protein bar open and biting into it. Her mind wandered to Jack.

Jack, although having made strides since they first picked her up, was still wary of most people. An abusive childhood, at the hands of sick bastards, left her wild and socially stunted. Go figure, Shepard thought with a snort.

Jack relied on instincts honed to survive the worst of circumstances. The one time Jack ignored them, she ended up on a slaver’s ship as one of its prizes. Cara sighed, this conversation was either going to go really bad or just okay. At this point, all Cara could hope to do was settle Jack’s nerves, which, of course, wouldn’t be easy, with the new information she’d received from Wrex. Shepard dropped her head to the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling.

Shepard heard Jack’s heavy boots on the stairs, and she put her thoughts away, sitting up straight. When Jack reached the top step, Shepard smirked at her, “Oh, it’s you. I thought the ship had been taken over by Elcor, what with all the stomping.”

“Fuck you, CJ,” Jack said, leaning against the wall, “What did you want?”

“Have you had anything to eat today?”

“Yeah, Ve and I stopped earlier." Jack cocked her head, taking in Shepard's demeanor. She looked tired, and a slight wrinkling of her brow told Jack she was worried about something. Knowing this wasn't really about food, Jack pushed off the wall and said, "I could go for something else though."

Shepard stood and nodded towards the stairs, “Let’s go. I could use a little something.” She passed Jack, who followed her, and they left the ship, heading towards a transit terminal.

Jack had a good idea what this little lunch date was about. She'd done something stupid, and Shepard was worried. A lecture was coming. One that Jack didn't want right now but knew she had to listen to. Resigned to her fate, Jack sat quietly as the cab took them to their destination, trying not to fidget too much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A quick drive dropped them off at a hole in the wall that sold a mix of asari human cuisine, unbusy due to the time of day. They ordered a small meal then sat at a corner booth away from all the other patrons.

Cara could tell that Jack’s lizard-brain was trying to take charge because of her constant fidgeting - her fight or flight response was on a hair-trigger. Cara needed to figure a way to settle Jack’s worries, or things could go bad.

After they both began eating, Shepard asked, “So, you wanna tell me what led to the little show we put on this morning?”

Jack was silent, except for her foot tapping under the table, staring down at her food. Her fork played through it. She looked up with a scowl on her face, “The other shit at that place wasn’t doing anything for me. I thought a sip wouldn’t hurt.”

“Okay,” Shepard said and took a bite of her food. “How’d that sip turn into half a glass?”

Jack shrugged and stuffed a forkful of food in her mouth, foot still tapping. Shepard gave her time to sort out anything she wanted to say. After a long silence and a quieting of her tapping foot, Jack pushed her food away and leaned back into her seat. The scowl that had graced her face a moment ago was replaced with a brow furrowed with concern. She still kept silent.

Shepard gave a quiet sigh and leaned forward, “Look, Jack, I won’t let anything happen to you or anyone else on the crew. I’ve got your back like I know you’ve got mine.”

Jack crossed her arms, “Shepard, don’t make promises you can’t keep. We both know anything can happen.”

Jack was right, of course, but Shepard would also do everything in her power to keep that promise. “All right,” Shepard said, “then, tell me why you drank the ryncol.”

“Just, fuck off, Shepard. I don’t need you to hold my hand. I’ll be fine.”

“Drinking ryncol, when you know the effects it has on you, is not fine,” Shepard said. “Willingly subjecting yourself to the memories of what Cerberus did to you Is. Not. Fine.”

Jack ducked her head, uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. She knew she had fucked up, but…”I know I fucked up, okay. It’s this job. It's making me fucking itch. Nothing I can pin down, but it's wrong, or something about it is not right. I can't stop fucking thinking, worrying."

Shepard waited for Jack to continue, but she seemed to be done. “Yeah. We all agree," Shepard said, "that's why we're gonna do recon. We discussed this already."

"Just 'cause we discussed it, doesn't make the feeling go away," Jack said. The scowl from earlier returned to her face.

Shepard exhaled a heavy sigh, “Yeah, I get that. Listen, Jack, and I mean, really listen.” She paused until Jack looked at her, “I get that things can go wrong, and shit happens, but I promise I will do everything in my power to protect this crew.” She watched a flicker of relief flash across Jack’s face. “Jack, I know we don’t do the mushy stuff, but I want you to know, you’re like a sister to me. You’re family. This crew is my family, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my family. Got me.” Shepard swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and took a drink to help get rid of it.

There was a look of caution, mixed with awed disbelief, in Jack’s eyes that vanished as she began to speak, “I wo-,” Jack’s throat tightened with emotion when she started talking, and she cleared it before trying again, “CJ, I won’t be a prisoner again. If this thing goes south…” she trailed off.

“It won’t,” Shepard said with confidence, holding Jack’s eyes with her own. Jack responded with a small nod, then nothing more was said as they finished their meal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They returned to the ship, and Jack went to her quarters, her emotions still bubbling at the surface from their talk.

Knowing Jack needed time, Shepard went in search of Kas and Keiji. She found them, sitting in the lounge hunched over their omni-tools and datapads. “Hey guys, find anything out?”

“My contacts say this prothean artifact is very important to the Council,” Keiji said, not looking away from his omni. “It’s some kind of prothean information device. Humanity’s willingness to share is huge. There’s talk of the humans getting invited onto the Council because of this thing.”

Better and better, Shepard thought to herself as she said aloud, “Okay, what about that info I sent?”

“Working on it now, Shep,” Kas said, her fingers flying across a datapad. “We don’t have anything yet, but should get something by tonight’s dinner.”

“Yeah, sure, let me know as soon as you’ve got anything,” Shepard said. A yawn escaped, and she covered her mouth. “I’ll be in my quarters.”

“Sure thing, Shep,” Kasumi answered.

Shepard left the lounge and headed back down the stairs to her quarters. A couple hours of sleep would be good, she thought as she keyed open her door. Shucking her pants and shirt, she crawled under her covers and was asleep in moments.


	8. It Just Gets Better and Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the promised posting. Happy New Year everyone!

Cara heard a familiar voice calling her name. Her eyes fluttered open as her bedroom door slid open. Her mom smiled at her, “Wake up, or you’ll be late to graduation.” She closed her eyes as her mother threw open the curtains.

When she opened them, she was looking at herself in the mirror while she straightened her dark blue Alliance issued uniform. “You look so much like your father.” Shepard turned to see her mother in the doorway and grinned. “He would be so proud of you,” her mother said. Shepard blinked.

“Is that all you got soldier? How did you even make it to N-school?” a red-faced woman screamed at Cara as she stumbled, almost dropping the heavy log she carried across her back before she righted herself and pushed on with even more determination, blinking sweat from her eyes.

When they reached the settlement, Cara ran a hand across her face, removing the sweat. The ship had dropped them off seven klicks from the settlement, due to the terrain, and Shepard’s platoon had to make their way across the arid planet, only to find an empty settlement. They made camp for the night after searching for clues. The horrifying screeches filled the air, alerting the entire platoon. The pained and terrified screams of her squad joined the screeches as they fought for their lives. Just as her weapon overheated, a giant globule of acid was spit in her direction. A hard hit from behind knocked her away from the acid in time, but she felt herself fading into blackness.

She shook the blackness that threatened to take over, away. The drone had come out of nowhere, taking down her shields with ease. She dove to cover jarring herself, shaking her head, Cara fired back at the unknown drone, taking it down. That was the last of them. The soldier it had been chasing checked her surroundings before leaving cover to join Shepard. Cara got a good look at the woman when she lifted her helmet’s visor, but any words were cut short by the repetitive sound of more gunfire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard jerked awake to the sound of repetitive thudding on her door. "CJ, get your ass up," Jack yelled through the door.

Cara swiped a hand over her face, trying to clear the sleep and the deja vu feeling from her head. "Yeah, I'm up," she called towards the door. The thumping stopped. Shepard pushed herself out of bed with a groan, her mind a whirl of confused thoughts and images. What the hell was that about? she thought. She checked her omni for the time, forty minutes. She sighed, There’ll be time to figure it out later I guess, and grabbed her pants from the floor, stepping into them. She tapped the door lock mechanism, and the door slid open, revealing Jack, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. Shepard picked her shirt up off the desk chair and slid it over her head, "What's up, why the hell are you pounding on my door?"

“You look like shit, Shepard,” Jack said, looking over the woman. Receiving a shrug in response, she focused on the reason she was there, “Kas may have found something.“ Jack turned to go then paused and turned back, “And I,” she paused and scowled before looking directly at Cara, “I just wanted to say thanks for earlier, and me too.”

Shepard tried hard to hide the delight she felt, so she didn't make Jack anymore uncomfortable, but a slight smile managed to seep through. “Anytime, lil’ sis,” Shepard couldn’t help but tease a bit.

“CJ, you’re an ass,” Jack said, pushing off the wall and heading for the lounge, “come on, Kas and Keiji are waiting for you.”

Shepard didn’t miss the small smile that twitched at the corner of Jack’s mouth as she turned or the amusement in her voice. She followed her the short distance to the lounge stairs then up them. Kas and Keiji were both still tapping away at their devices. “So, Jack said you guys might have something.”

“A few fractured lines of messages between an unknown and Kessler. It’s not much,” Keiji said. “Looks like this unknown was the same one who sent us the job, though.”

“Really?" Shepard said, her interest immediately peaked, “Do we have any clue to this unknown entity?”

“Not yet, Shep,” Kas said, “but I’ve sent what we do have to Sid, and she’s currently running searches. There’s still a lot of encrypted and corrupted data we have to sift through.”

Shepard was silent as she thought. She glanced over to Jack before she asked, “Does it have any signs of being Cerberus?” She saw Jack tense.

“No. No signs of those sick fucks,” Keiji said without hesitation. “Here’s what we found so far.” He paused a moment from his tapping to toss her a datapad.

She caught it and began skimming the fragmented information. For some reason, Kessler had declined the job for them. Shit, Shepard thought, not good. Looking through more, she found nothing helpful. “Thanks. Good job, you two.”

“Nothing to it, Shep,” Kas said.

Shepard glanced at Jack, who had relaxed, and nodded her towards the stairs. She left the lounge, knowing Jack would follow. Once at the bottom, she waited for Jack to join her, “What do you say to a little sparring? We’ve got about an hour before dinner.”

“Don’t gotta ask me twice,” Jack said, making her way towards the end of the quarters' corridor to the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The lower deck, usually crowded with cargo, was wide open now, leaving a substantial space for Shepard and Jack’s sparring match. Both biotics' skin shined with a layer of moisture from the strenuous workout. Where Cara was finesse and control, Jack was force and power. Each, balancing the other as they fought. Zaeed had arrived well into their session. After a long bout of exchanged punches and kicks, they backed away from each other - for space and a breather. Zaeed had been watching the two for about ten minutes, waiting for the right time to stop them. He figured this was as good as it was going to get. “Hey, you two,” he called, “it’s about time to leave.”

Both women looked over to him, relaxing from their fighting stances. Shepard smiled, saying, “Hey, old man,” between heaving breaths, “When’d you get back?”

“Cara,” he said, his voice warning. She chuckled, and he rolled his eyes. “I got back a few minutes ago. Vetra said you two were down here, beating the shit out of each other.” He made a pointed look at the bruise forming on Shepard’s jaw, and the small cut that was still bleeding below Jack’s right eye.

“Don’t worry, Z,” Jack said, wiping at the trail of blood, “just a little sparring. Dipped when I should have dodged and all that shit.”

“Well, go see Dauna and get that cleaned up so we can leave,” Zaeed groused then headed for the elevator.

“What’s his deal?” Jack asked.

“Not sure,” Shepard said, wiping sweat from her brow. “He was going to see Fist. Maybe something there.”

“Maybe,” Jack started towards the elevator. Shepard followed.

As they rode the elevator up, Shepard glanced over at Jack, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. As the elevator came to a stop, and the door slid open, Shepard gestured to the cut on Jack’s face. “You should probably keep it,” Jack raised an eyebrow, and Shepard continued, “it only improves your face.” Shepard laughed at Jack's scowl as she exited the elevator.

“Bite me,” Jack said, pushing past her towards the medbay.

“Not even in your dreams, Jack,” Shepard said with a chuckle as she made her way to her room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard and crew arrived at the Little Tower, one of the nicer restaurants on the Presidium, right on time. A table in the back, away from eyes and ears that could spy, had been set up for them as requested. Two humans already sat at the table. A woman with cornrow dreads leaned close to a clean-cut male talking in hushed tones. When the group approached, the woman looked at Shepard, one brown eye and one blue eye, focusing on her. “Shepard,” she said, her colonial accent thick, “What kind of shitstorm have you gotten me into this time?”

“Don’t act like you don’t love the challenge, Sloane,” Shepard said, taking a seat across from her and receiving a smile. She looked over to the man and nodded, “Rey.”

“Hello, Cara,” he said with an easy smile and his accent curling the “R” in her name. He turned to the others, greeting them as they each found a seat.

An actual waiter came up to take their drink orders when they were all settled - a turian with tan markings across his sage-colored face. The group chatted among themselves while they looked at the menu. Friendly jibes tossed at one another between catching up. Once they had ordered and received their meals, they requested not to be disturbed.

When the area cleared of additional ears, Shepard asked, "So, what did everyone find?"

"Fist, was unavailable,” Zaeed said with a growl, “seems the bastard had a last-second trip to make.”

That explains the mood, Shepard thought, before saying aloud with a shrug, “Okay, Wrex did warn us.”

“Warned you about what?” Jack asked before shoveling a forkful of food in her mouth.

“Fist’s trustworthiness,” Shepard said.

“I could have told you that,” Jack scoffed, mouth still full of food.

“Swallow first, then talk, Jack,” Shepard sighed.

“I never swallow,” Jack said with a smirk. Snickers and groans rose about the table.

Shepard covered her face with a hand before sliding it down to glare at Jack, who smiled in response. “Moving on,” Shepard said, “Sloane, Rey, do either of you have anything for us?”

Sloane spoke first, setting down her silverware and leaning forward, “The info you sent us, as I’m sure you all have figured out now, is legit. Standard operatin’ procedures for the Alliance are bein’ followed. I’m thinkin’ they might beef up the watch since the Council’s involved now.” Sloane picked her fork back up and leaned back in her seat, fiddling with it as she continued, “I ‘ave an old Alliance friend on Eden Prime. I can meet with him when we get there. I should be able to get more information.” She shrugged, “Other than that, a standard recon of the area should tell us what we need to know.”

“Good,” Shepard said, looking around the table, “any questions so far?” When no one spoke up, she focused on Reyes, “You got anything for us?”

Reyes sat down the knife and fork he was using to cut into his steak and wiped his mouth. He glanced around the table at everyone before speaking. “Turns out, you weren’t the only ones offered this job. My sources say that it was offered to the Blue Suns,” he paused as Zaeed growled, offering him a look of understanding before he continued, “and a group in the terminus, calling themselves, The Forgotten. They’re a mixed-race group of outcasts. The Blue Suns declined, not wanting to draw any extra attention from the Alliance, and The Forgotten very recently underwent a change of management and are not ready to deal with something of this magnitude.”

“Do we know where the offer originated from?" Vetra asked.

“Both offers sent were by an anonymous backer and each with heavy encryption," Reyes said. “So, the source couldn’t be traced." He looked at Kas and Keiji, “You two might take a look at it. See what you can do.”

“Any idea why it got sent our way?” Shepard asked, running a hand through her hair.

“Best I could find out, the Suns mentioned you, probably hoping you’d accept and get caught by the Alliance,” Reyes shrugged. “Apparently, you’ve been a thorn in their side. Sneaking in and disrupting their “business ventures” as they put it.” 

Zaeed grinned at that news.

“I thought you’d like that, Massani.” Reyes had nothing more for the group, and they went back to their meals, thinking through this new information.

Cara sat back in her seat and frowned. Another point to worry about, especially if the Suns warned the Alliance about the job. Thoughts tumbled one after another, Would the Blue Suns have taken out Kessler? She shook her head, No, there was no reason for that, the frown deepened as her thoughts spiraled. Unless they believed he was the reason they were swooping in and mucking up the Blue Suns jobs. Shit. Shit. Fuck. Shit. She ran her hand over her face before saying, “All right. Well, that might help explain something.”

“Explain what,” Vetra asked, her subharmonics expressing suspicion.

Cara took a deep breath and let it out, looking at the waiting group. “Kessler’s dead,” Shepard told everyone. “Bastard was strangled in his car.” There were gasps of surprise and shocked looks around the table. “That’s not all,” Cara said, “his murder happened before this job got sent. Wrex said he’s been dead for almost a week. And according to some information Kas and Keiji found, he rejected this job -- for reasons unknown.”

Mutters of disbelief and confusion moved around the table. Shepard waited, taking bites of her cooling food until the table began quieting down. She continued, looking at Kas and Keiji, "The information you've been working on is what came from Kessler's place. If you'd like to tell the table what you've found so far."

"Sure, Shep," Kasumi said amicably before tapping at her omni. A moment later, broken lines of code popped up onto the screen that hovered over her arm. She showed it to the table. “The extreme corruption to the data makes deciphering it almost impossible. We’ve only been able to put bits and pieces together,” Kas explained. “This level of corruption requires a virus, that at most, only a handful of people in the whole galaxy would have the know-how to create. Unfortunately, Keiji and I haven’t seen any indication of who.” Her brow creased, and her lower lip poked out as she frowned. “In fact, it’s one of the most sophisticated viruses we’ve ever dealt with and are unlikely to get much more than we have.” She closed down her screen, and Keiji took over.

“What we have found out, Shepard has shared already. Also, a few broken correspondences with other job seekers.” Keiji tilted his head and looked to Shepard, “There was a broken bit of text we found right before we came here. It looked like a response to Kessler’s rejection of the mission. The sender mentions your name. There were a few other words that we were able to decipher, but nothing made sense. I’ll send you a copy. And with the most recent news, it looks like the message was received after Kessler was already dead.” Keiji looked around the rest of the table, “We haven't been able to salvage anything else yet, but we’ll keep working.”

Shepard heard the ping on her Omni and pulled up the text.

This job….. of utmost impo….. request…. Cara Shepard…... artifact…..Please….the galaxy’s fate…on…..Without Shepa….. 

galaxy…. Eden…. much….. threat…. signal…. dire consequences.

Shepard did her best to hide her surprise and unease at the message. What the hell? Who would ask for her by name? The crew was careful not to give out their real names for jobs. Kessler knew them of course, but he was their contact. He worked with a dozen other crews, at least. Jobs were assigned by Kessler, based on the needs of the client, and the capabilities of the crew. Anyone who could request Shepard by name would have contacted her directly. And, what dire consequences? Was it a threat? Well fuck, Cara thought. 

The table had quieted down again, and she pushed away her thoughts to focus on the crew. A few of them looked unsure. She tried to give them a reassuring smile but was sure she hadn’t accomplished it. Vetra’s mandibles were held tight to her jaw, and Jack was fidgeting. Great, she thought. Shepard looked at Keiji and Kasumi, “All right, good work you two. Rey can get you the other offers, and you can compare notes.”

“Sure thing, Shep,” Kasumi agreed after casting a sideways glance to Keiji.

“All right, anyone else have any new information?” Shepard looked around the table, but everyone stayed quiet. “Okay, what about supplies?”

Cael spoke up first, “Z and I have been working on non-lethals. We’ve got a few concussion grenades put together and stun mods and ammo blocks for your guns. I’ve also been working on stealth shields. They suck up a lot of power, so aren’t great, but should give you a short stealth field with shield capabilities.”

“Nice,” Shepard said, “anything else?”

Dauna spoke up next. “Those medic armor mods are coming along. Good news is everyone on the ground gets one, bad news is, they’ll be weaker than the original. Not by much, but still weaker.”

“If we had more time, I could strengthen them,” Cael added.

“Do what you can. Something’s better than nothing,” Shepard said.

Cael nodded, “That’s about all I got.”

“I’ve got the intercoolers we were needing,” Reza spoke next. “Should have them installed by the time we arrive at Eden Prime. And Vetra found some info on those shields I was talking to you about. I’m afraid we won’t have them for Eden Prime. A guy on Omega has a few pieces I’ll need.”

“Okay,” Shepard said, “when we finish this job, we’ll swing by Omega.” 

Vetra spoke next, “Jack and I stocked up on heat sinks and power cells, hopefully, we won’t need them. We also snagged a few cases of customizable grenades.” She looked over to Cael, “I can help set up more concussion grenades when we get back to the ship.”

Cael nodded in acceptance.

“Also, I did some last-minute checking on those shields for you, Reza. I didn’t find anything else on those specific ones, but I did find a way to enhance what we have for now,” Vetra said.

Reza nodded in acknowledgment.

Shepard looked over her crew, who by now had finished their meals. She read each of their faces. All showed a bit of concern, but for the most part, willing to move ahead with the job. “All right, time for concerns. Any concerns we haven’t already covered?” She looked Jack in the eyes.

The talk they had helped, but the information about Kessler had brought her worries back to the surface. Jack tried to push them back out of her mind and focus on what the team needed instead. Although still worried, Jack gave Shepard a tilt of her head, indicating she would be fine, and she would, Jack told herself.

No new concerns were brought forward. They would get to Eden Prime and proceed with caution. The talk around the table turned from business to lighter subjects and plans for later that night. Shepard had smiled at her little family, listening to their verbal sparring and comradery, joining in from time to time, but had lost herself in her thoughts during most of the night.


	9. Out of the Frying Pan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you haven't yet noticed, I'm terrible at naming chapters. :P

It was early the next morning, and everyone was taking care of last-minute details. Shepard sipped her coffee, going over the plan for Eden Prime in her head. Touch down, then get the lay of the land. Meet the natives and military types there, get a feel for them. Figure out what the hell they were even supposed to be picking up. Then, if everything still felt okay, go ahead with the pick-up. On paper, it was one of the easier jobs they'd had, even when she figured in the Alliance, but her gut was telling her something wasn't right.

"Hey Shep, you got a second?" Kasumi asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She sipped her coffee before answering, giving herself a moment to gather her thoughts, "Yeah, what's up, Kas?"

"Keiji and I found a possible lead from the data Reyes sent," Kas said, walking towards where Keiji sat at the couch, still tapping away at his omnitool.

"Really?" Shepard was surprised because of the corruption of the data. "Is it useful?"

"It's a name or, at least, part of one," Keiji answered.

"Okay," Shepard said, waiting for more. Her omnitool beeped, and she brought up the info she received. $a?*n &rte#iu!. "I can give this to Sid to put in one of her searches, maybe more will come of it."

"Already sent it, Shep," Kasumi said. "We also found mail from both of the other organizations asked. It alluded to a turian. There’s enough of the name that we believe this could be the same person."

“Also,” Keiji said, pausing what he was doing and looking at Shepard, “The job info Reyes found wasn't sent by the same people who sent our packet.”

“Two different parties sending packets for the same job?” Shepard asked.

“Seems it,” Keiji said, going back to whatever he was working on.

Shepard stood for a moment, watching Kas and Keiji working. Her brows furrowed as she ran a hand over her face. Shepard sighed before saying, "Good work you two. Hopefully, Sid will be able to find something out for us." 

Kas looked up and smiled at Shepard before returning to her work.

Shepard tried to return it, but it didn’t reach her worried eyes. She left the lounge, looking for Vetra. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard found Vetra in the cargo hold going over an inventory list one last time. "Hey Vee, how's it coming?"

"I'm about a quarter of the way through," she said, setting her datapad down. "Think of anything else we needed?"

"Nope," Shepard said, popping the "P" sound. "We'll probably head out just after mid-day. Reza's still working on replacing the coolant rods. I've got to run an errand, let everyone know when liftoff is, and make sure they have everything they need."

"Sure thing, Cara," Vetra said, her eyes narrowing as she watched Shepard leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard left the ship and started walking, no destination in mind. There was still plenty of time to stop by Wrex's place for one last check-in before they left, but for now, she needed to let her mind wander.

The crew of the _Night Fox_ were some of the best people she knew, even with all their issues and quirks. Also, and most importantly, they were her family. Ever since she woke up in a strange place, with a grizzly faced man standing over her, and a dark blue asari at her bedside, these people had been her family. Well, after she had attempted to take off the strange man’s head with a left hook, and the calming dark blue asari explained the situation. Of course, it didn't start out with them all. Only Zaeed and La'Dauna at first, but over time her family grew. She had already lost one family. She was not going to lose another one, so whatever she had to do to protect them, she would. Nothing was going to get in her way.

As she walked by an open door, a song caught her ear, the tune familiar but unrecognized. She entered the cafe -- nothing fancy but a comfortable place. She grabbed a seat at a corner table and ordered a pot of Colonial coffee.

She made herself comfortable in the chair as she waited for her order to arrive. She closed her eyes, listening to the haunting instrumental that played over the cafe's speakers. A picture formed in her mind from when she was a very young girl. The music's melody seemed to swirl around her, and Shepard saw herself watching as her mom played her cello. The sounds blending in her memory and present day. Her eyes shot open at the sound of glass clinking on the table.

"Sorry, miss," a human man said. His voice lilted. "Didn't mean to startle you."

Shepard quirked her lips and shook her head, forgiving him. "Can you tell me what song was just playing?"

"Of course, miss," he pulled up his omnitool, "give me a moment to look it up on our playlist."

Shepard readied her cup of coffee as she waited. The memory, still fresh in her mind. It had been the day after she'd broken her first bone -- her arm -- falling out of a tree. A kid told her she couldn't climb it because she was a girl. She had climbed to the very top and looked down with a triumphant smirk at the boy. Then making her way down, her foot slipped on the last branch, and she'd landed on her arm as she hit the ground.

"Miss, it was the human composer Bach's Cello Suite No.1," he told her, "covered by the asari melodist D'Breva." He watched as the human woman gave a slight nod of her head. "Will there be anything else, miss?"

"No, thank you," Shepard said, smiling at him. She watched the man return to the counter to fulfill other requests for the few other customers. Returning to her thoughts, Cara remembered her captivation in the beauty of the song, and her mother as she played. Other similar memories flood her thoughts as she sipped from her coffee. Her mother always glowed when she played, and always seemed so at peace. Sometimes when her mother played, she would catch her dad staring from a doorway in rapture. His face frozen in the perfect picture of awe and adoration.

Something wet splashed on her hand as the memories continued. The odd sensation drew her out of her reverie. She swiped at the clear liquid as another landed. She sniffed and realized she was crying. Cara wiped the tears away and took a deep breath.

Shit, she thought. Another deep breath, and another. Shepard could feel her thoughts calm. Okay, you got this, she told herself.

She drained the rest of the coffee in her cup and swiped her credit chit before leaving the small café. As she turned back to look at the place once more, she stopped when she felt herself collide with another body.

Shepard reached out just in time to stabilize the smaller woman in front of her. "Hell, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

The woman managed to wrangle the books in her arms that had been falling and looked unharmed. "Quite okay," she said. The woman had a lilt similar to the man in the café. She gave Shepard a once over, seeing the blotchy cheeks and red eyes, asking, "Are you okay? No one in there gave you any trouble, did they?"

Shepard looked at the petite, strawberry blonde confused.

"No one in the Café caused you any trouble, did they?" the strawberry blonde repeated.

"Oh, um..." Shepard stumbled, "No, no trouble. Very nice, actually." Shepard shook her head to clear it. "Sorry for running into you. I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad, too. But maybe, you could buy me a coffee to make it up to me," the strawberry blonde said before she began to stumble over her words, "I mean if you have the time. I wouldn't mind if you..." she trailed off at the small smirk appearing on the other woman's face.

"I've got time," Shepard said, checking her omnitool. It wasn't completely true, but hey, she thought with an internal shrug. She offered her arm as she turned back to the café door, "right this way, Miss..." Shepard waited for a name.

"Anwar. Suvi Anwar," the petite woman answered.

"It's nice to meet you, Suvi. I'm CJ," Cara said, guiding her to the table she’d recently left. She peeked at the books the woman carried, astrophysics and molecular bio, and couldn't keep an eyebrow from raising. "Some light reading for later?" Shepard said, pointing to the books after they were both seated.

Suvi chuckled, "No, not really. I'm writing a paper on the probability that sentient species in other galaxies don't have eezo or mass effect technology, and how they might have evolved without it." She placed a drink order for a spiced tea as she talked.

"Interesting," Shepard said, propping her arms on the edge of the table and clasping her hands together. She leaned forward. "So, you don't think other galaxies have eezo?"

"It's highly unlikely," Suvi answered.

"What makes you think they don't? Besides the obvious of different places, different circumstances, why wouldn't they have it?" Shepard watched Suvi lean forward, and could see the excitement spark as she answered.

"For the precise reasons you said, different places, different circumstances, different evolutionary cycles altogether," Suvi said, excitement growing with every word. "Just look at our galaxy, humans specifically. We lived millennia without eezo. Our planet is completely free of it, as are many other planets out there. Based on the rarity in our galaxy, the likelihood of it being in other galaxies is even rarer." Her voice rose, the more excited she got.

Shepard was about to respond when a voice interrupted her.

"Oy, Suv." Shepard heard the waiter from earlier call out, although his voice was much less professional. "Pipe down now. You're botherin' the other customers."

Shepard scowled in his direction. And to think, I left him a decent tip, she thought, rising from her chair. She stopped when she heard Suvi call back.

"Don't 'Oy' me, Stephan Brien Anwar," Suvi said, a scowl of her own forming on her face. “Your ugly mug is botherin’ them more than my talkin’.” There was laughter from the waiter and a few other customers.

Cara cocked her head at the last name, "I take it you know him."

"My baby brother," Suvi answered, waving her brother off after he placed her tea on the table.

Shepard looked back at the much bigger man then back at the petite woman in front of her. There were noticeable similarities in the cheekbones and the curve of their lips, but they stopped there. Stephan's complexion was dark and wiry, where Suvi was lighter, petite and lithe. She cocked an eyebrow at Suvi in question.

"Takes after my mum's side of the family. Not a one of them under 5'9, women and men alike," Suvi explained with a smile. "I ended up with my dad's genetics, which produces short women and average height men."

"So, you said, baby brother," Shepard said, "You're the oldest?"

"Oh no, I'm the middle child. There's Ewan, who's the oldest, Leena is next, then me, Johan, and Stephan," Suvi told her.

"Wow," Shepard said. "What was that like growing up?"

"Oh, it was fun, for the most part. We're a rather boisterous group anyway. Not to mention, the many cousins on the holidays. It's just Stephan and me here on the Citadel. It gets rather lonely here sometimes, that's why I come to the cafe."

“Where's the rest of the family?" Shepard asked.

"Oh, they're on Earth. Well, most of them. Leena works on Mars but visits quite often."

"What does she do on Mars? Does she work in the archives?"

The conversation continued for a while, keeping Shepard's mind away from the impending job on Eden Prime. They talked about quite a few things. Mostly about Suvi and her family and the work she was doing in the field of science. Surprising to Shepard, though, was what she shared of herself, her past in particular. It wasn't much, only a few memories. One of them, the memory she experienced earlier of her mother playing the cello, the cause of her splotchy composure, and the reason for Suvi's initial concern. They touched on a bit of religion, and the possibilities of a greater power. They talked about the amazingness that was the Citadel. Overall, Shepard felt very relaxed and much less stressed than she had when she first stopped by the café.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The beeping of her omnitool interrupted their conversation. She glanced down to check it and saw the time and the message from Vetra. "Shit," she said, pushing back in her seat.

"Is everything okay?" Suvi asked, concern crossing her features.

"I've got an appointment that I'm now running late for," Shepard said with a friendly smile, "but other than that, everything is going very well." The smile turned flirty.

Suvi returned Shepard's smile, "I've enjoyed this time as well. Maybe we could do it again sometime soon?"

"I would like nothing more than to do just that," Shepard said, pulling up her omni info, "I should be back in the area in a week or two. We could meet then."

"I look forward to it, Cara," Suvi said, sending her own info to Cara's omni. "I'll see you later, then." She stood to place a kiss on Shepard's cheek and give a shy smile.

Shepard grasped Suvi's hand as the strawberry blonde stepped back from the kiss. Shepard brought it up to her lips, leaving a gentle kiss, then with a smile, turned and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Shepard made her way to Wrex's apartment, she sent a quick message to Vetra, telling her she would be back to the ship soon. Then, sent one to Wrex, letting him know she was on her way.

The journey to Wrex's place was a quick transit ride. When Cara arrived, she asked him about Fist disappearing, hoping he would have some information to give her.

"Not sure what to tell you, Shepard. I told you not to trust the bastard. I can tell you, the Broker asked me to keep an eye out for him, which would indicate he's in deep," Wrex said.

"Yeah, sure Wrex," Shepard said, heading for the door, "thanks again. I'll get you something nice when I'm on Eden Prime." She gave him a big grin when he growled, then made her way back to the _Night Fox_.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Shepard arrived back at the _Night Fox_ 's docking slip, Vetra was waiting for her. 

"Everything okay, Vee?"

"I was gonna ask you the same question, Cara?"

"Yeah, I just went to see if Wrex had found out anything else. I asked him to let me know when Fist shows back up at Chora's."

"That took the whole morning and afternoon? You're an hour late," Vetra said. "I covered for you. The guys think you went out for some last-minute things, which," she points to a small crate, "are right there."

"I ran into a girl," Shepard said with a leer before remembering Suvi and changing her tone. "Well, a woman. Literally. I bought her a drink, and one thing led to another..." she trailed off.

"No," Vetra said, her mandibles flaring with irritation.

Shepard spoke before Vetra could say anymore, "It's the truth." Her brows furrowed as her lips tightened into a line.

"Cara, I'm not saying you didn't run into a girl. I'm saying, you didn't leave this ship just to go talk to Wrex, and you didn't spend the morning fraternizing," Vetra said. "You might act the carefree player, Cara, but you take your role here seriously. You know that" Vetra said, pointing a talon at Shepard, "and I know that," the talon turned onto herself. "This job, despite the simplicity, has us all a little concerned. So, cut the varren dung, and tell me, what's bothering you?"

With a heavy sigh, Shepard's features relaxed, and she leaned her back against the docking bay railing, crossing her arms. She looked away from Vetra and stared off into the nebula for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She looked at Vetra with a furrowed brow, then back out to the swirling purple and pink hues of the nebula. "Someone wants me on this job real bad, and that's concerning, to say the least. I mean, they asked for me by name."

"You know, we don't have to take this job," Vetra said, leaning her hip against the railing next to Shepard.

"Sure we do." Shepard tossed her hands up. "It's laid out before us like plans to a maze with a fifty-five million dollar prize to whoever completes it," Shepard said, running a hand through her hair. "That's enough for you and Sid, to get out of this life. I know you don't mind, but I know you want Sid out. She's still a kid, and this is no life for a kid." 

The two women shared a look of understanding as silence settled between them.

Vetra thought a moment before she replied, "There'll be other jobs."

Cara shook her head then let it drop, hanging between her shoulders. She straightened again before she spoke. "This could also help Reza get back to the flotilla, and well, Zaeed could finally track down Vido. The payday on this one's too important to overlook."

"Not if it puts you, or any one of us, in excessive danger."

"That's a daily thing for me," Shepard tried to jest, but the delivery was only half-hearted, and it fell flat.

Vetra shook her head, dismissing the attempt at brevity.

"Look, Vee," Shepard pushed back from the railing and faced Vetra. Shepard's eyes hardened as her voice steeled with seriousness, "I'll be okay. I got stuck in my head a bit earlier and had to clear space. We need this job. I can do this. We can do this. Once it's finished, I'll track down whoever it is that's throwing my name around like we're besties, and ask them a few questions."

Vetra sighed, seeing the look in Shepard's eyes. Stubborn human, she thought. "Fine, Shepard. Just know that we're here for you as much as you're here for us." Vetra paused before adding, "Not just myself, but the whole crew." She watched a slew of subtle emotions cross Shepard's face before patting her on the shoulder and turning towards the ship.

Cara stood still, trying to control the emotions that were bubbling to the surface. Her throat felt tight, and her eyes burned as she took a deep breath through her nose to calm herself. Finally corralling them, she turned to follow Vetra when she heard, "Don't forget the crate," in Vetra's exasperated flange. The tiniest of smirks quirked the side of Shepard's lips as she bent to pick up the crate. Steeling her features to one of neutrality, she entered the ship.


	10. On to Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's the pacing for everyone? Not dragging too much I hope. It should pick up here soon enough. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me thus far. Fair warning... we're just getting started. ;)

The trip to Eden Prime was uneventful. The crew worked to get everything together and ready for the recon they would do the first night there. Each crew member also focussed on the smaller projects and details they could work on during the trip. Concussion grenades were assembled. Shield generators and medic programs were enhanced and applied to everyone's armor. Stealth shields were tested and retested, both for durability and reliability - the former was very promising, the latter not so much. The final stealth shield test gave the wearer a full thirty seconds of stealth fields before the battery needed a recharge, but that was only if you weren't hit by a fast-moving projectile. Two bullets would knock out the stealth field and lower the barrier. Even after working on it tirelessly, Zaeed and Cael, couldn't get it to absorb any more damage. No matter the battery's workload output or capacity, it would short out, or overload.

Sid's terrain searches had located a secure spot for Cael to land and hide the ship. It was away from the landing port, but close enough to the nearby settlement that the humans on the crew, and La'Dauna, could travel there without any problems. When they landed, Reza, Vetra, Sid, and Cael would stay with the ship so they wouldn't draw any unwanted attention on the human colony. Sid would act as their eyes and ears, gathering as much information as she could from any communications coming and going from the planet. Vetra, coordinating with Sid, would pass the info along to whichever ground team it would most benefit. Reza and Cael would make sure everything on the ship stayed in working order. The need for a quick getaway was always a possibility.

Once on the ground, Kas and Keiji would scout the area to find the quickest routes to and from the ship -- for both the settlement and the science camp. Zaeed and Jack would check around the docks and tram stations used to transport cargo. Shepard and Reyes would patrol the local life, and Sloane would check with any alliance contacts. La'Dauna would use her position as a medical exchange worker with the Alliance to gain a position within their base. If anything went wrong, they would have a person on the inside. After their reconnaissance, they would meet once more and discuss what they found. If they still thought the job worth the risks, they would lift the artifact the next night and be off the planet before morning.

As soon as the _Night Fox_ touched ground, the teams split up and went to their assigned tasks. Shepard and Reyes posed as business voyeurs, checking Eden Prime's prospects at housing the main office of their adventure guided-tour venue. Eden Prime was a new settlement with many undiscovered treasures for future clients to discover, and the local cluster offered plenty of exploration opportunities. As they asked around and checked with local businesses, they found the people of Eden Prime to be friendly and ready to help. However, they didn't have much information about the artifact, or the science team.

They did find out that Eden Prime was an archaeologist's wet dream. Prothean ruins littered the planet, and there was a science base not too far away, one that had made some big discovery. The details were vague at most, but Shepard and Reyes could tell it was the artifact they were there to get.

Kas and Keiji's scouting found the science teams about five miles from the main settlement. A small battalion of Alliance soldiers were also stationed to watch over the scientists. Although the two scouts were unable to put eyes on the artifact, they narrowed down its location. They knew it was somewhere at the far end of the science camp, which would complicate things a bit. The _Night Fox_ was about three miles from both locations' main entrance. If the artifact was near the main entrance, the team would have plenty of time to get back to the ship and be off-world before anyone noticed the artifact missing. Since the artifact was at the far end of the complex, it would take another hour to get back to the ship. They would need a small transport to get to the ship faster once they procured the artifact. 

Zaeed and Jack didn't find anything useful at the docks. The docks shipped out cargo and received imports that were then transferred to other settlements on the planet. Located near the science dig site, they could be an escape option if things turned complicated. Jack hoped in silence that wouldn't be the case.

La'Dauna arrived at the medical compound and flashed her credentials to the posted guard. He escorted her to the medical director. When asked why she chose Eden Prime, she told them the peace of the planet drew her. After her stint near the Terminus borders, she needed something more relaxing. She explained she was only there for the next couple of days. She hoped to observe and learn more about human anatomy and physiology so that she could better perform her medical duties. 

Sloane's contacts in the Alliance had been unable to talk. They were busy with drills and assignments. She received a message to meet up that night at a local hangout used by civvies and Alliance.

When the team met up on the _Night Fox_ that afternoon, they exchanged what they had found on their recon assignments. Also, Sid found out through omnitool communications that most of the scientists came into the settlement to blow off steam. The team agreed to check out the local hot spots, in hopes one of the scientists would give them further information about the artifact. After discussing who would hit which hangout, the crew of the _Night Fox_ separated to get ready for a night on the town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cara finished touching up her eye make-up, smoothing out the copper eyeshadow, and making sure the kohl eyeliner accented her eyes just right. A clear coating of gloss covered her lips, and her hair fell in its usual stylized mess. She straightened her verdant green sleeveless shirt under the black vest, lined with lightweight armor, she wore. Happy with her look, Shepard grabbed the last couple of accessories - a silver link necklace that she'd gotten from her mom and her omnitool.

Shepard slipped her omnitool, disguised as a silver solid band bracelet, on her left wrist as she exited her room. She found Jack waiting with her back against the wall beside the door. Cara knew Jack wasn't happy with the team assignments. The group decided that Jack, La'Dauna, Zaeed, and Kas would hit up the civilian haunts, while Sloane, Reyes, Keiji, and herself would check out the military scene. "Look, I know what you're going to say, and we discussed it already, " Cara said. "We'll be fine. I know enough about the Alliance to blend into the crowd, and I'll have back-up if needed."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said with a scowl, "just don't fuck up. Then, you'd have to live with the burden of me saving you hanging over your head for the rest of eternity. Don't think I'd let you forget. " She pushed off the wall and joined La'Dauna and Zaeed, who had arrived, ready to begin the night. Kas was to meet them later after she and Keiji had scouted the dig area once more after nightfall.

"Looking good, Cara," Reyes said, approaching from his quarters.

Shepard ran her hands along the thighs of her form-fitting black denim jeans and straightened the silver-buckled belt. "I am," Cara agreed with a teasing smile. Her ankle-high, heeled boots made her eye level with the smirking man. "You're not looking too bad yourself," she told Reyes. 

Sloane walked up next to Cara and poked her on a bare bicep. She looked between Shepard and Reyes, "You both know this is business, not pleasure." 

"Why can't it be both?" Shepard asked. 

Sloane rolled her eyes and turned to look at Reyes, who was also dressed to the nines. "Good grief you two. We're going out to get information, not hook up," Sloane's colonial accent emphasizing her annoyance.

"Yes, but I find people are more likely to share with someone who looks as good as we do," Reyes said with a smirk. "Plus, I can't help it if everything I wear makes me look this good."

Shepard chuckled, "Too true, Rey," agreeing only to needle Sloane, who again rolled her eyes and left for the airlock. Shepard winked at Rey as she stepped up beside him. They followed Sloane out the airlock with matching grins to the aircar that would take them into the settlement. 

Cara looked over to Reyes in the backseat of the car, "The crew has a bet on who can get the best information first, me or you."

Reyes looked at Shepard intrigued, "Go on."

"What if we heightened the stakes a bit. We have information. What we need is access to the dig site. How about, first one who gains that access wins."

"Rules?" Reyes asked.

"Subtlety is key as you know, so no direct questions about the artifact. To even the field, I get the girls you get the guys..."

"Afraid they would ignore you if they knew I was there for them, too?"

"Yeah. Right, Rey, keep lying to yourself. I've already proven they like me more than you. If I recall correctly, I managed to get the straight girl when you couldn't." Shepard's lips curled into a gloating smirk.

"Ah, yes," Reyes said, "the so-called straight girl, who fell for none of my charms. I do believe that competition was rigged." 

The aircar touched down in a public parking lot.

"Don't be a sore loser, Rey. You're better than that," Shepard said as she exited the aircar. The fresh, warm night air surrounded her, and Cara inhaled a deep breath. She had always liked the earthy smell of being ground side.

"Ah, I guess we will see tonight then," Rey said, stepping out next to Cara.

"Let's go, you two," Sloane said, walking towards a lively bar. The place was a popular but relaxed dance pub. There was an L-shaped bar that started along the left wall and elbowed onto the back wall. It was well populated with Alliance types, and scattered with a few civilians and scientists. A chilled electronica sound played overhead. The atmosphere worked well for dancing and relaxing over a few drinks with your buddies.

Sloane led them to a table with a group of Alliance types. She clapped a well-built, dark-skinned man, with a friendly face, on the shoulder. He turned around with a questioning look on his face that transformed into a grin when he saw Sloane.

"Sloane," the man said, "long time no see." He stood and held out his hand.

She grasped it and shook, "That it has been, Jacob. How's the Alliance treating you?"

"I can't complain," Jacob said, releasing Sloane's hand. "How's life outside the Alliance been going for you?"

"Not bad," Sloane said, "I run a security agency. We do well for ourselves." At that, she turned to Reyes and Shepard, "These are my partners, "Rey and CJ."

Jacob held out his hand for each of them to shake, welcoming them. He looked back to Sloane, "You're more than welcome to join us," he swept his hand over the table. "Cricket and Hill won't mind." He indicated each with a jerk of his thumb in their direction.

The two men at the table nodded amiably at them, indicating they were okay with the idea.

"I'll let old friends catch up," Reyes said, bowing as he backed away.

"Catch up first," Shepard agreed, "we can join up later. Plus, I hear a drink calling my name." Shepard followed Reyes over to the bar. They found a spot to order their drinks then turned to survey the bar. The room was overflowing with possible marks. "Final rule," she said, "honor system. No cheap tricks to sabotage the other, no getting the other kicked out of the bar, et cetera."

The bartender sat their drinks down behind them, and they turned back around to retrieve them. Reyes held his glass up, "Deal." Shepard clinked her glass against his then turned back to the crowd, looking for her first mark.


	11. Once Upon a Dream

The night was half over, and so far, neither Shepard nor Reyes had had much luck. They were both back at the table with Sloane and her friend. Jacob hadn't been able to tell them much more than what they had already found out on their own - he wasn't part of the scientists' guard detail. He did let them know that an Alliance ship on Citadel business would be arriving earlier than planned. At that point, Shepard had gotten up for another drink.

Shepard was waiting at the bar when a boisterous group of Alliance soldiers walked in the door. They joked and shoved as they made their way to an empty table near the bar. As they all sat down, Shepard's eye caught on a tall, dark-haired soldier. The soldier wore blue Alliance issued pants and a matching blue plaid, long-sleeve button-down hanging open over a tight white shirt. The sleeves on the button-down had been rolled up to her elbows, showing off well-formed forearms. Shepard's gaze continued over the woman's well-endowed chest and down the curves of a spectacular body.

Watching the banter between the group, she saw the dark-haired woman brush-off repeated attempts by a male group member to dance. Cara sipped her drink, watching out of the corner of her eye. A thought came to her. If they were getting here this late, and still in their fatigues, there was a good chance they'd come off duty. Which meant there's a good chance they were guarding the artifact. Shepard stayed at the bar and continued nursing her drink as she watched the group.

Shepard waited for the group to enjoy their first round of drinks before she made her move. She ordered herself and the dark-haired beauty a drink then approached the table. With a charming grin across her face, she set the beer in front of the surprised brunette, "Here, you're looking very hot. I thought you might need something to cool you off." Shepard gave the soldier a cheeky grin.

The brunette stared at Shepard, raising an eyebrow, then burst out laughing.

Shepard had hoped for such a reaction. The line was cheesy enough. Now, she waited for acceptance of her offer, or a rejection. She chuckled at herself then stood with a grin on her face, never taking her eyes off the brunette. She ignored the others' snickers and chuckles at the table and waited for the brunette to bring her laughter under control.

Finally, with a gasp of air, the brunette asked, "Does that work?" The incredulous look she gave Shepard said she didn't believe it did.

"Not sure yet," Shepard said, raising an eyebrow in question, "I'm waiting to find out."

The brunette's bright, brown eyes studied Cara, deciding what her reaction should be to the brazen stranger. A small smile formed at the corner of the brunette's mouth before turning into a grin. Still looking at Shepard, who gave her a wink, the brunette grabbed the drink from the table and stood up, "I guess it does."

Shepard exhaled, still grinning, "Great." She held out her hand, "Wanna dance?"

The brunette took another drink of the beer Shepard had brought, watching her as she did. Then, she set the beer down and said, "My daddy always told me never dance with someone whose name you don't know."

"Mine always told me, aim first, shoot second, ask questions third," Cara replied, retracting her hand. "Since I've followed those directions, I suppose I could give you my name.” After an immeasurable beat, Shepard said, “It's Logan."

"Just Logan. Is that a first or a last name?" the brunette asked.

Cara smiled mischievously, and nodded, "So, you know my name now. I think it's only fair I know yours."

The brunette smirked and looked back at her group, "I'll catch up later guys. Let me know if we're needed." She grabbed Shepard's elbow, leading her to the dance floor among the catcalls and whistles of her friends. Once on the dance floor, she turned towards Shepard with a grin and began moving to the beat.

Damn, Shepard thought as she watched the lithe body move in front of her, just... Damn. Cara moved in closer, resting her hands on the woman's hips as she caught the beat, and began moving, too.

The pulse between them was electric. They seem to move in perfect synchronization, knowing what the other was going to do before it happened. They stared into each other's eyes, a grin on each of their faces as the beat changed and their bodies flawlessly followed. As the beat became more sensual, their eyes closed and each woman lost themselves in the other. Hands roamed over hips, up sides and arms, and over shoulders. The brunette ran her hands down and back up Shepard's back then into her hair. Pulling Shepard's head closer, the brunette leaned in so her mouth was next to Shepard's ear and whispered, "Williams."

Shepard looked confused for a moment still caught in a sensual haze. Then she blinked, "Well, Williams," Cara said, leaning back to look into the soldier's mesmerizing eyes, "I'm beyond thrilled to meet your acquaintance." She leaned back into the soldier and felt the vibrations, caused by the brunette's chuckle, travel down her body. After one more song, the two left the dance floor and found a secluded table away from prying eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Williams," Shepard asked, setting down another drink for the both of them, "the Alliance teach you to dance like that."

"Nope," Williams said, grabbing her beer and relaxing back into her seat. She gave Shepard a smile and took a drink.

Shepard watched as Williams tilted the bottle back, finishing half the beer in one go. While she had the chance, Shepard allowed her eyes to follow the curve of William's neck to the fitted t-shirt where it disappeared. The soldier's tan skin was a contrast to the bright white of the shirt. Shepard wet her lips as she thought about following that curve with them. A throat clearing brought her eyes immediately up to the face attached to the lovely neck. Unashamed at getting caught staring, Shepard looked at Williams with a smile, asking, "Yes?"

"So, Logan," Williams said, an amused look on her face, "you gonna tell me if that’s a first name or a last name?"

"Last, of course," Shepard said, taking a sip of her drink.

“Oh, of course,” Williams mocked. "Do you have a first?"

"Of course, don't you?"

"Of course," Williams repeated with a smirk.

Cara enjoyed the energy buzzing between them. It made her skin tingle nicely, but she needed to move things along before the night ended. She knew this woman was her ticket to the artifact. Shepard broke eye contact with the soldier and looked at her beer bottle, fiddling with the peeling label. Deciding on a course of action, she said, "Jane." Shepard made eye contact again and saw the soldier was a bit... Shepard wasn't sure surprised was the word, confused maybe, but whatever the emotion it faded quickly, and a brilliant smile, that made Shepard's breath catch, replaced it.

"Well, Jane Logan," the brunette said, "it's nice to meet you. I'm Ashley."

Cara breathed out to calm herself, Holy shit what this woman did to her with a simple smile. A feeling of guilt spread through her gut, but she pushed it away. She didn’t have time for that right now. "Ashley has anyone ever told you you've got an amazing smile." Shepard watched as a splash of pink warmed Ashley's cheeks, and she dipped her head.

Gathering her composure, Ashley took another sip of her beer and looked back up at Cara, "Not recently, and not as blunt as you did." Another smile, "Thank you."

They sat in comfortable silence, sipping their drinks. Shepard tried figuring out a way to bring up the subject she wanted without sounding suspicious, but Ashley unwittingly helped her by asking, "What brings you to the lovely, yet dull as hell, Eden Prime?"

"Eden Prime can't be all that dull if you're here," Shepard said, a flirtatious smile following her words. Then she added, "I came here for work. Looking at setting up an adventure tour thing. My friends are the brains of the operation. I usually tag along as part of the security team with the expeditions or help give tours of colonized planets."

"Sounds interesting," Ashley said, "are you set up anywhere else?"

"We've actually got a place on Illium, and another on Earth. We're looking to set up one on the Citadel, but the prices for a storefront are ridiculous. What about you? What do you do for the Alliance?"

"Right now, the unit I'm in helps to guard Eden Prime's scientists. As I'm sure you've heard, or noticed, Eden Prime is a bit of an archaeologist's wet dream. Prothean dig sites are everywhere."

Shepard chuckled, having thought the same thing earlier. "I haven't seen anything, but there's been plenty of local chatter. People are saying the scientists found something pretty important."

"Aren't all Prothean findings important," Ashley said with a roll of her eyes.

"I suppose, if you're an expert in Prothean things, it might be, but I'm more of a here and now girl. The past is the past. You can't change it, and you can only learn so much from it. The future, well, what you do in this moment creates the future. Actions done and reactions made are permanent, unless someone made a time machine and didn't tell me. You can ask forgiveness, but what you did can’t be undone. It will be a permanent memory in someone’s mind." Shepard looked at Ashley to see the woman staring at her, a thoughtful look on her face. A blush rose to Cara’s cheeks as she looked away.

"Interesting," Ashley said. "Do you want to get some fresh air?"

"Um," Cara said, caught off guard by the question, "um, yeah that sounds nice."

Ashley pushed back from her seat and finished the last of her beer.

Cara followed, doing the same. Ashley surprised Cara when she grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind. This woman was different than any of the other's Cara had seduced, or flirted with, except maybe Suvi. There was a quality the soldier possessed that reminded Cara of the strawberry blonde she had met only yesterday. A moment after that thought, cool night air hit her face. It was nice after the stuffier atmosphere of the bar. 

Ashley led her down the steps of the walkway to a patio area that overlooked a pleasant vista. The soldier let go of Shepard's hand as she leaned against the railing and looked up at the stars. They sparkled brightly in the clear sky. Shepard chose a spot right beside her so that their elbows were touching. Ashley didn't move away, and Cara smiled to herself.

Moments of silence passed as both women gazed at the stars, until Ashley said in a hushed whisper, "'What numerous questions to me rise / Whene'er I view the dazzling skies'." Ashley turned to look at Shepard, who raised her eyebrow. Ashley gave her a small embarrassed smile.

A feeling of deja vu swept over Cara at Ashley's quoting of poetry and embarrassed smile. It startled Cara. Without meaning to, she said in a breathy whisper, "Ashley Williams, who are you?" The feeling of familiarity had only increased as the night went on and Cara had spent more time with Ashley.

"Tonight, I'm a girl looking for a little fun. What about you, Jane, who are you?"

Cara's smile faltered for only a moment, not long enough for Ashley to notice, then grew into a grin, "'I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul'."

That brilliant smile flashed across Ashley's face again, "Invictus, well played." A beat passed between them, then Ashley leaned forward and captured Shepard's lips in a slow, hesitant kiss. Shepard responded, and Ashley increased the pressure and intensity. Their bodies turned to one another, and they closed the space between them. One of Ashley's hands gripped the hair at the base of Shepard's neck, causing Shepard to moan into the soldier's mouth. The other rested in the small of Cara's back, pulling her closer. 

One of Shepard's hands had gotten caught between them, and Cara used it to grasp at the hem of Ashley's t-shirt, balling it into her fist to keep this beautiful woman from escaping. The other cupped the side of Ashley's face, fingers gently caressing the line of Ashley's jaw where it met her ear, earning a similar moan to the one Cara had produced not a second earlier. Gasping for breath, they broke apart, only to dive back in a moment later. This kiss was much shorter as was the one following until finally, they rested their foreheads against one another and breathed each other's air.

"Wow," Shepard said after she had time to regain her senses, "just... wow."

"You're not bad yourself," Ashley said, running her fingers through the short hair at the nape of Shepard's neck, feeling a patch of rough skin. 

A shiver coursed through Shepard's body at the feel of Ashley's fingers on her neck, and she looked up to see a bemused look on the soldier’s face. She knew instantly what it was for, and, with a raised eyebrow, Shepard said, “What’s your stance on biotics?” 

Ashley grinned a naughty grin. “Yes, please.”

Damn this woman, Shepard thought, I think I'm in trouble. Shepard uncurled the fingers fisted into Ashley's shirt and asked, "Mind if we sit down? My legs would benefit for a moment."

"Of course," Ashley said. She pulled back from Shepard, releasing the hold she had on her, and grabbed a nearby seat at a bench. Shepard followed and sat beside her, leaving less than a centimeter between them. Ashley looked away to hide the smile Shepard's closeness caused.

Once again, silence descended on them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, both caught up in their thoughts for the moment. Ashley's thoughts centered around the absurdity of the night, and her forwardness with this near stranger. Also, the growing realization that she was going to ask this woman back to her bunk.

Shepard's thoughts were on the strange feelings of familiarity Ashley caused. Had she met this woman before somewhere else? She would definitely remember her, Cara thought. No doubt. Her next thought was, she needed to put some distance between them, not just physical distance. This, whatever this was, wasn't why she was here, but for reasons unknown, Cara couldn't get her body to move away, and her thoughts revolted at the idea. When the beautiful, brunette soldier that was Ashley Williams, asked Cara back to her bunk, Shepard's immediate response was, "Yes.” 


	12. Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's Thursday again already! So, I have this posted over on FF.net as well, and there were a couple of comments about the pacing (which was helpful because I had concerns about it already), and I just want to say that any constructive comments/concerns you all have are greatly welcomed because I believe they make me a better writer overall. 
> 
> As for the pacing, if you feel like it's dragging a bit, I want to reassure you that it picks up in the next couple of chapters. I have it loosely mapped out, and it'll be less setup and more things happening (if that makes sense). Anyway, enjoy!!

Ashley's housing was a cramped cubicle called an apartment. It had room for a cooking station with overhead storage, a small eating table, a full-sized bed, a footlocker, and a closet-sized bathroom with only a toilet and sink, but Shepard really didn't care. She was currently focused on the woman removing her vest and working on her belt buckle.

Cara pulled back from the deep kiss they were in long enough to help with the belt, then she returned to the delicious lips from which she had parted. Her own hands traced along Ashley's sides and across shoulders, feeling the soft flesh and toned muscle beneath. She met resistance in her search for more of the stunning soldier in the form of a plaid button-down. Shepard immediately worked on pushing it from the firm, strong shoulders and down arms that rivaled her own sculpted ones.

Cara felt herself being led backward and gave ground easily. The backs of her legs hit the edge of a surface, and she collapsed backward onto it, taking Ashley with her. Cara’s hands teased the hem at the back of Ashley’s t-shirt, fingers barely grazing the warm skin beneath. She felt Ashley arch into her touch and took that as a sign to pursue further. 

One hand, held Ashley close, while the other slipped under the cotton fabric and worked its way up, mapping the contours of the soldier’s back. Cara’s hand traced toned muscles until it reached another layer of cloth. She skimmed her fingers along the edge of the Alliance issued bra, following it around to the front where the clasp was located. Shepard gently grazed the underside of Ashley's breasts with her knuckles through the material, eliciting a low moan. 

Her fingers changed direction, Cara whispered them down a feminine stomach with the barest hint of definition, feeling the muscles clench and twitch beneath the tips of her fingers. At the feeling of the exquisite body above her, Shepard groaned as want further flooded her being. She broke from the hypnotic lips to taste along Ashley’s jawline and nibble at an ear. Good gods, how she wanted this woman.

Ashley broke away to remove her t-shirt, allowing Shepard to see the toned, soft tanned skin beneath. She then reached for the hem of Shepard's shirt and pushed it up and over the woman’s head until it trapped Shepard's arms in place above her head. Ashley heard and felt the woman groan beneath her, hips bucking up into her. She watched Shepard's face as desire darkened grey eyes sought out her own, and their eyes locked, neither moving, lost in the moment. "God I want you so bad," Ashley's whispered words broke the silence.

"Then take me," Shepard said, knowing those words meant so much more on some unconsidered, undiscovered level of her being.

Ashley leaned down again to take control of Shepard's lips. The kiss started gentle, teasing, increasing in intensity every second. Ashley’s tongue traced soft lips until they parted eagerly, accepting her into the depths behind them. Tongue grazed against tongue, intertwining and battling for a dominance neither really cared about. All the while Ashley's hands traced maddening patterns over Cara’s abs and up her torso, closer and closer to her covered breasts.

Ashley pulled back from the kiss when they were both breathing heavily, and worked her way along Cara's jaw, nipping and tasting her way until she reached an ear. She pulled the lobe into her mouth, sucking for an instant before releasing it and working back down Shepard's jaw, then throat, stopping to suck and nip at Shepard’s pulse point and then other points that caused Shepard's breath to catch and hitch. She made it down to the defined collarbone and followed its path to one shoulder, and then back across to the other, leaving kisses and bites along the way.

Shepard's body squirmed at every touch, and her thoughts were everywhere at once, but at the same time, acutely focused on everything the passionate woman above her was doing to her body. Every sensation shot through to gather in a warm expanding knot below her stomach. Her gasps and whimpers only encouraged Ashley's exploration of her body. 

When Ashley’s lips grazed over a cloth-covered nipple, Shepard cried out in pleasure - a guttural cry, closing her eyes to try and control the pleasure coursing through her - and arched into Ashley. The same was repeated to the other nipple and a corresponding cry was released. She heard Ashley chuckle above her before she felt cool air hit her exposed breasts - the simple strapless bra Shepard had worn removed with ease. 

Hot breath engulfed Cara’s left breast seconds before a warm wet mouth covered the erect nipple. Shepard arched into the glorious feeling, wanting more. Ashley sucked in, laving around the pebbled nipple with her tongue before flicking it with the tip.

"FfffUuuuCK!" Shepard half yelled half groaned, bucking into Ashley above her.

Ashley released the nipple long enough to say, "Not yet, but soon." She pressed her own hips down into Shepard, and both moaned at the feeling. Ashley bent to take Shepard's right nipple into her mouth but was unexpectedly flipped onto her back.

With their positions exchanged, Shepard straddled the hips of the confused but quickly recovering soldier. Shepard removed the top that had been keeping her arms trapped. She bent down and took Ashley's bottom lip in her own before the soldier could fully recover and bit down, not enough to draw blood, but enough to cause a hint of pain. Shepard heard Ashley cry out and felt the body beneath her shudder. She gently licked the lip to soothe away any lingering pain then captured Ashley's mouth in a dominating kiss. 

Shepard's hands traced the forearms of her lover until they reached the hands around her waist, holding her in place as they ground against each other. She took them in her own, joining their fingers as she brought them to rest on either side of Ashley's head. Shepard held them in place as she continued her dominating kisses. She pulled back, taking another sharp nip at Ashley's bottom lip, feeling the shudder beneath her again.

A smirk played across her lips as she looked into the darkening eyes of the woman below her. "Hmmm," Shepard said, glancing between their bodies to admire the still covered but heaving breasts below her. "You're wearing too many clothes still, but if I try to remove them, I feel the tables will be turned once again." 

Ashley gave Shepard a mock scowl and tugged at her pinned arms.

"Unless you promise to be good," Shepard said, raising her eyebrow in both a question and a challenge.

The scowl disappeared, and a leer formed on Ashley's face. "Oh, I promise to be good. Can you promise the same?"

"I can guarantee it," Shepard said, keeping eye contact, while, in the same moment, collecting both of the soldier's wrists in one hand.

Before Ashley knew what was happening, mesmerized by the pure sexuality oozing from the woman above her, she found her hands bound above her head. The warm tingling told her biotics were being used. Every fiber in her body screamed at Ashley to get herself loose, but the smokey eyes above her were soft and questioning. They still held that hint of dominating presence that Shepard exuded without thought. A subtle nod of her head let Shepard know she was okay and the night continued.

As Cara's gazed burned over her body, Ashley tested the biotic binds, finding that with a little pressure she could break free when she wanted. Ashley looked to see that Cara was staring at her with a smirk. Ashley returned it with a bashful grin. The blonde woman winked and set forth to remove the Alliance issued bra that still covered Ashley's chest.

The night ended with two exhausted women cuddled into one another. After their bodies could take no more, Ashley had thrown an arm over Shepard's exposed hip and placed her head under the woman's chin snuggling into her. Shepard had wrapped her arms around the woman and pulled her close, both falling asleep with smiles on their faces.

A buzzing at Shepard's wrist roused her from sleep. She felt a warm body pressed along her front and a strong arm held her close. The night before flashed through her mind and she smiled before the buzzing caught her attention again. Her smile turned to a frown, and she tried to ease herself away from the gorgeous woman who held her captive. Ashley grumbled a bit, grabbing for Shepard, who was no longer there. A still sleeping Ashley found her other pillow and pulled it close to her face, inhaling deeply and falling back into a peaceful sleep.

Shepard quietly dressed, doing her best not to wake Ashley. She checked herself out in the bathroom mirror and fixed what she could. The marks would fade. 

As she grabbed her vest from the table, Cara knocked off a couple of datapads beneath them that she hadn't noticed the night before. She caught them before they fell off the table, but her finger triggered one of them and a schedule popped up on the screen. A guard schedule - for an important Prothean artifact. Shepard glanced over at the bed at the still sleeping woman. She scrolled through the information. It was routes and times and numbers of guards deployed. 

She glanced again at the woman in the bed. This is what she had come for, this information. Did it matter that Shepard liked this woman? That Shepard felt she could be more than a conquest, or random bed partner? But, she had people depending on her. With one last glance at her sleeping lover, she downloaded the data pad's information to her omnitool and placed it back on the table, shutting it down. She left a simple message on the other datapad that was blank and left the apartment. 

It was still very late, or early if one preferred to wake up at ungodly hours. Shepard checked her omnitool, it was a message from Jack. It read, No one's heard from you, and you missed check-in. Something better have fucking happened, or I'm gonna kick your ass when you get back. She grimaced as she read the message. With a job like this one, missing check-in wasn't good. She typed up a quick response and sent it to allay everyone's fears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside, the sun still slept, and no hints of its arrival were on the horizon. Shepard was one of two people on the tram. The other looked like he could be a dock worker, heavy boots were on his feet and thick gloves rested in his lap. Shepard figured he was asleep when he didn't look who else had entered the tram. She waited the four minutes it took to traverse the rail back into the settlement, remembering last night. She shook her head when the tram stopped and exited it with a glance at the man to see if he was still breathing. Satisfied when his chest rose and fell, she left him behind on the tram, and walked back to the ship.

She arrived at the  _ Night Fox _ as the sun began to peek above the horizon. She scanned her omnitool at the airlock door then entered when it opened. Waiting for the airlock chamber to finish decontamination, Shepard thought about Williams again. How would Ashley react when she woke up? Did she expect Shepard to stick around? Would the message she left help? But the question Cara kept coming back to was, would Ashley figure out it was her who took the artifact? Ashley seemed like an intelligent woman, so there was a good possibility. The airlock door slid open to the main part of the ship, where a very unhappy Jack was waiting.

"You're an asshole," Jack said. Jack pushed off from the wall she was leaning against and approached Shepard. Stopping right in front of her, Jack crossed her arms and glared.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know I messed up. It was all kind of sudden. One minute we were just talking the next, well the next..." Shepard trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought in her regular, vulgar manner.

"We didn't know that," Jack said. "Sloane said you disappeared without letting them know you were leaving. One second you were there, the next gone." Jack was pacing now, and her words were sounding more and more distraught as she spoke. "Then, when you missed check-in..."

Shepard felt like shit. She had to calm Jack down. Cara waited for Jack to make another loop in her pacing then stepped into the path of the woman with her arms open. Jack could do nothing but run into Shepard, who wrapped her arms around the upset woman. Jack fought the hug at first, but Shepard held on until Jack calmed and awkwardly hugged Shepard back, trying to hide the relieved trembling that overcame her at Shepard's embrace. 

"Sorry, Jack," Cara whispered, "I'm really sorry. I fucked up. Got my head unscrewed and off focus. But," and she pushed back to look at Jack. She ignored the tears in the younger woman's eyes, saying, "I did manage to get something helpful. Should increase our chances by a lot."

Jack turned away from Shepard and wiped at her eyes, "I'm still gonna kick your ass, CJ. But I'll wait 'til the jobs over." She turned back around to see that Shepard had pulled something up on her omnitool. "So, what have you got?"

"Guard shifts and routes. Current ones," Shepard said with a smile, tilting the omni's screen towards Jack.

"No shit," Jack said, looking over the information.

"No shit," Shepard said. "What do you say to a few hours of sleep, then we can rouse the rest of the gang and plan out a snatch and grab for sometime tomorrow night."

"Yeah, sure," Jack agreed, feeling the adrenaline from her anger drain, "I could use a couple of hours."

As Shepard turned towards her room, she felt biotic energy surround her, and she was thrown into the wall with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. She was then held there for a moment before she was released. "What the hell, Jack?"

Jack chuckled and walked by, patting Shepard on the shoulder, "Wasn't me." She pointed behind her and went to her room.

Shepard turned to see La'Dauna, eyes narrowed at her, and arms crossed. "Where have you been? No, never mind, we'll talk later. Go get some rest." And without another word, La'Dauna turned on her heel and returned to her quarters.

Shepard got to her room and collapsed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Her dreams were weird again. She was once more living a life that was not her own. Events unlived played behind closed eyelids, then a familiar face. A beautiful face, scowling and angry, calling her  _ the _ Commander Shepard.

Cara shot up in bed with the final image of Ashley, arms crossed and glaring daggers at her, burned into the back of her mind. She pushed herself back against the wall and bent her legs in front of her so she could rest her forehead on her knees. 

_ Shit, damn it, fuck _ , she thought. Her head thumped against her knee to punctuate each curse. What the hell was going on with her? 

That first dream she thought was just the effects of stress, but it appeared that wasn’t the case. Now, Cara knew that Ashley was the person in her first dream. Was she suddenly psychic? She blew a raspberry at herself with the thought. A sudden dread settled in the pit of her stomach, but what if? She was almost sure that had been Eden Prime, and it was being attacked by machines. What if there was a bit of truth to her dreams? Maybe she should talk to La'Dauna. She might be able to help.

Shepard uncurled from her spot on the bed and stood, stretching and wiping the sleep from her eyes. She checked the time on her omni; it was mid-morning. First, a shower was necessary. Then, she needed to call a brainstorming meeting with the new information and to see what anyone else found. Shepard would talk to La'Dauna after the meeting was done and a plan was in place. She gathered her clothes and entered her personal bathing chambers. 

As she undressed, Cara examined the marks left on her body. Good grief, there was a lot. Her neck wasn't as bad as it had been the night before; now that they had had time to heal. She smirked at the thought of the adventurous and rough and tumble lover that was Ashley Williams. Her smirk faded. Well, Cara was pretty sure she would never see her again after tonight. Why was she so bothered by that thought?

Shaking her head free of the upsetting thought, she turned on the shower and got in under the steaming hot stream. She let her body soak for only a minute under the refreshing deluge before washing and rinsing. She dressed, feeling cleaner, if not better. There was still a hint of that unsettling dread that lingered. Pushing it once again to the back of her mind, she left her cabin.


	13. Be Prepared

Shepard exited her room in time to see La'Dauna leaving through the airlock. "Hey Dauna, wait!" she said, jogging the short distance to the closing doors. They closed before she got there but reopened an instant later.

La'Dauna waited, with narrowed eyes, at the open door, but her irritation lessened as her gaze swept over Shepard. Something was bothering the young woman. It wasn't this insane job either, no matter what Cara claimed.

"Where're you going?" Shepard asked, leaning against the open airlock door.

"I need to be at the Alliance Medical Center soon," La'Dauna said with a shrug.

"Oh," Shepard said, "Um, well.." she stumbled over what she wanted to say. How do you say you think you might be psychic, or whatever was going on in her head? "Well, I..."

La'Dauna could see the struggle Cara was having, "What's up, Shepard? If you're trying to apologize, don't worry about it. I forgive you for being an ass."

Shepard chuckled in surprise at La'Dauna's words. It also managed to rid her of the block of uncertainty sitting in her gut. "Can I talk to you real quick? In private, I was hoping maybe you could help with something..."

"If it's about something you've picked up from a conquest," La'Dauna started before Shepard stopped her.

"No! No, nothing like that. It's... it's.." She was back to stumbling over her words.

"Come on, kid, let's go to the medbay," La'Dauna said, wrapping her arm around the blonde's shoulder and leading her down the hall to the medbay. They entered, and La'Dauna locked the door behind them. "Okay, kid, what's going on? First, it's not like you to miss a check-in, even if you are in the middle of... something," La'Dauna said, raising a brow.

"Okay, this may sound strange, but," Shepard hesitated a moment longer before the words spilled from her mouth, "have you ever come across a psychic? Someone who could foresee the future or something like it?" Shepard didn't wait for La'Dauna to answer and kept going. She needed to get everything out before she thought about it too much, "Because the last couple of nights, I've been having these bizarre dreams. About my life, but it's not really my life. In them, I was in the Alliance. At N-school.

“The dreams, or whatever, are like a kind of deja vu. The woman from the bar last night, who I know for a fact I've never seen before," La'Dauna raised a brow at Shephard's tone, "featured in the first set when we were on the Citadel. I'm pretty sure she was on this planet, which you know, I've never been to. It was being attacked by mechs of some kind, and she was running from them. Then again, last night, I was on a ship, the first of its class. Anderson was there," Shepard's voice cracked at the man's name. "It was called," here Shepard struggled to recall the name of the ship; the details were fading, "the.. the Normandy. I think. So?"

Shepard looked up at the asari, helplessness marring her features. It was a look La'Dauna had not often seen from the woman. She stayed silent as she thought. Shepard shifted from foot to foot in front of her. After what seemed forever to Shepard, La'Dauna answered. "Well, I've heard of some asari's with a sort of precognition, but nothing like this. I could initiate a meld, but since they were dreams, they might be fragmented. Even then, they might not be much help.”

Shepard began pacing back and forth with her head down. She stopped and looked at La'Dauna, "But it could help, right? Because, right now, I've got this huge knot of dread, sitting in the pit of my stomach," her hand fisted and pushed into her stomach, "and I can't have that going into a job." She began pacing again, "Whatever is going on, it's messing with my head. What if it's true? What if this planet will be attacked by an army of mechs, and I don't warn them? Not that I have any details like, when, or how." Shepard threw her hands up, overwhelmed by her spiraling thoughts.

"Cara, calm down," La'Dauna said, reaching for the woman as she passed and turning her towards her. Her tone, much more calming in nature than her usual one. This was her doctor-voice, as Shepard called it. "Let me do a meld and see what I can find before you go down that path. Now, I'm going to need you to focus on these dreams, or visions, if that’s what they are. From there, it should be easier for me to get a grasp on what's happening."

"Yeah okay, just whatever you can do, please," the last word, a quiet plea.

La'Dauna hadn't seen Shepard shaken this much in a very, very long time. She hoped she would be able to help. "Here, have a seat," La'Dauna patted the examine seat. "Okay, now, focus on the dreams and relax." La'Dauna placed a hand on Shepard's cheek in comfort, watching Cara take a deep, calming breath. La'Dauna's eyes darkened as she focused on pushing through the barriers of Cara's mind, looking for the dreams Shepard mentioned.

Shepard had done well, pulling them to the front of her mind, and they weren't hard to find, but they were surprising. They were almost like fragmented memories. Bits and pieces of a life Cara had never lived but remembered. The realness of each fragment was disorienting. 

The woman Cara had talked about flashed across in one of these fragments. La'Dauna took note of the strong connection she felt between the two, more than should be possible after one night, and gently removed her mind from Shepard's, severing the meld. She didn't want to alarm Shepard, but whatever this was, she had never come across anything like it. Neither in her personal life or her medical studies.

"So, what's the prognosis Doc, am I going crazy?" Shepard asked with only a hint of humor in her voice.

"I don't think that's the case, Cara, but, and I don't want you to worry too much..."

"Well, that's never good to hear from your doctor," Shepard said, cutting off the doctor.

"Hush," La'Dauna chastised, "I've never seen anything like it. Nothing even close, in fact. Maybe it's all the stress this job is putting on you."

"No more than usual, Dauna."

"We both know that's bullshit, Cara Jane, and I won't believe any different, no matter what you say.

"If these dreams are bothering you that much, tell the crew. This job isn't worth risking your health or lives. However, knowing you, I suggest you plan for all contingencies if you catch my drift. If you think there is even the slightest chance whatever you saw in your dreams could be real, make sure you're ready for it, and make sure the team is too."

"Sure," Shepard said, a pensive look on her face, "thanks, Dauna."

"Anytime kid, sorry I couldn't tell you more. I've got to get to the medical center, but maybe I can do some research while I'm there. Humans are still rather new to the galaxy, and I don't know much about the psychology of your species. I'm more of a flesh and bones doctor."

Shepard rose from her seat and embraced the asari doctor, "Thanks, anything you can find if only for my peace of mind would be helpful."

The asari returned the hug, "Sure thing, kid. Now get up there and make sure everything is taken care of so we can get off this rock."

A smile hinted at Cara's lips as she pulled away. "Will do, mom," she said, the affection in her voice unmistakable. Both women departed the medbay and went their separate ways. Shepard headed for the lounge area to see who was present before she sent out a message to meet.

Shepard was greeted by Sloane, who was sitting in the lounge talking to Vetra, "Good lookin' out last night, mate," sarcasm dripping from every word. "A heads up would ‘ave been nice."

Holding a hand up, Cara stopped any other comments, her tone more defensive than she would have liked, "Yeah, I'm a shithead. I get it. Sorry, I left you uninformed it won't happen again." She knew Sloane was only concerned but really didn't need anyone else on her case about last night. She had enough on her mind without piling more onto her conscience. 

The outburst had drawn the attention of the rest of the crew, and Shepard sighed. She looked around and saw most of them there. Jack was throwing glares her way while talking with Cael on one of the couches. Keiji and Kasumi were in the mess, tapping away at their omnitools, checking any surveillance they had put up around the areas they had scouted. Sid came from the galley with Reyes. Zaeed and Reza were the only two not present. Great, she grumbled to herself. "Okay, everyone, gather round," she said, motioning to the lounge area. She tapped a message to the two not present while everyone grabbed a seat.

Obviously needing to clear the air about her disappearance the night before, she said, "First, I just want to say I messed up. I know this doesn't fix it, but I didn't mean to worry you guys. I feel like an ass. I'm sorry."

"Eh, we're over it, CJ. So shut the fuck up about it, and tell us about this intel you found," Jack said, letting Cara off the hook. Jack looked around the room encouraging nods of agreement from the others. 

Cara watched as smirks appeared around the room at Jack’s words. Sloane shrugged, now unconcerned. Cara gave Jack an appreciative grin and found a seat on the arm of a couch. "We'll wait for Reza and..."

"Where the hell have you been, Cara?" Zaeed said, coming up the stairs. "Guddam girl, we all thought..."

"Shut it, Old Man," Vetra said from her seat on the couch.

Zaeed stopped talking and looked at her in surprise.

"Honestly," Reyes added, "If you had seen the lady Shepard left with, you would understand. Damn, Cara, your choice in women is exquisite."

Heads turned to look at him. "You saw her leave?" Sloane asked.

"No," Reyes said. "I did notice the goddess she danced with before she disappeared, however." He winked at Shepard.

"I'm going to kick your ass, Vidal," Sloane growled. "Why didn't you say something when I asked if you'd seen her?"

"If I recall, I said, I'd last seen her at the bar. You didn't ask about her company."

"You're a complete idiot," Sloane said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

Zaeed had found a seat during the exchange, and they were now waiting for Reza. Snickers swept the room at Sloane's last jab and Reyes’ affronted look as Reza joined them.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay, Cara," Reza said as he sat down.

"Thanks, Reza. Sorry if I worried you."

"It's fine, Shepard. You seem to be able to take care of yourself when the need arises."

A new wave of snickers filled the room from the humans and a couple of the aliens. Reza cocked his head in confusion while Shepard cleared her throat and tried to hide the warmth she felt rising to her face.

"Anyway, the reason we're all here is that my dalliance with the stunning woman last night," Shepard looked at Reyes with a smirk, "acquired us some great intel." She paused and turned to Reyes, "Which I believe unless you found something, makes me the winner of last night's little bet."

"Let's get the details first," Reyes said.

"I have here," Shepard said, pulling up her omni screen, "the current number of guards, their current rotation, and their current routes for the dig site." She sent the information to the team.

"Nice, Shepard," Zaeed agreed, reading through the information. "Sid can map out their routes on one of her programs, and we can find the perfect opening to pull this off tonight."

"We managed to get some eyes on the south and west side of the dig site. They can help confirm the accuracy of times and numbers," Keiji said.

"We can meet back here in...," Shepard checked the time, ten past midday, "let's say, five hours. That should give plenty of time to see how accurate this info is we have." She looked to Kasumi, "Kas, how do you feel about a bit more recon? We still haven't gotten eyes on the prize. The dossier we have said it's somewhere on the east side."

"The way's blocked-off with Alliance checkpoints and open terrain," Kasumi said. "Even with the guard schedule, getting there won't be easy." Kasumi bounced a bit and grinned, "It's like Christmas without the cold. You always give good presents, Shep."

Shepard shook her head at the thief's antics, "Okay, then. Don't be like me. Keep in contact. I want check-ins every twenty minutes to be safe."

"You got it," Kasumi said.

"Everyone else, finish your preparations. I'm not sure there's much more info grabbing we can do. If you think of something, feel free to follow it through, but be back here for departure. Once we get settled in our cover spot, we'll discuss the plan for pick up." Shepard hesitated as she watched her crew begin to move towards their tasks but knew she had to say something. “Before you go, there’s one more thing.”

Those who had risen from their seats paused, then lowered themselves back down at the look on Cara’s face. “What’s up, kid?” Zaeed asked.

Cara scowled at him but sobered as she thought about what she had to tell them. “Um, well,” Cara stumbled. Her crew looked concerned.

“We’ve already forgiven you for screwing up,” Jack said.

Shepard ran her hand through her hair and rubbed the back of her neck, “Yeah, um, it’s not anything to do with that. It’s… I don’t want you to think I’ve gone off the rails or anything...”

“Just tell us, Shepard,” Vetra said, interrupting Shepard’s fumbling.

And Cara did. A jumble of words spilled from her mouth, “I’ve been having these really vivid dreams, or maybe they’re premonitions I don’t know. I saw Eden Prime and the woman from last night, and there was an army of mechs attacking, and I was in the Alliance, and they’re just so real. I don’t…”

“Woah, woah. Slow down there, Cara,” Zaeed said, squeezing her shoulder.

When did he get over here? Cara thought, looking at his worried eyes. She took a deep breath.

“Now, what’s this about dreams and an army of mechs?”

Shepard took another deep breath. “So, the day before we left the Citadel, I had a strange dream. I shrugged it off as stress, ‘cause this job is crazy, you know.” She watched her crew nod and encourage her to continue. “But, there was a part of it... I was an Alliance soldier on Eden Prime, and mechs were attacking, and I saw the woman from last night. She was fighting these mechs. I hadn’t realized it was her until I had another dream last night. And well…” Shepard trailed off, not sure what she wanted to say.

“Are you sure you’re not just imposing her face on the soldier in your first dream?” Vetra asked after a long silence.

“Dauna did a meld,” Shepard said. The crew looked concerned. “She’s not sure what these dreams or whatever are. If they’re premonitions or what, but we both thought I should tell you about them in case they have any inkling of truth to them.”

“I’ll set up long-range scanners to pick up any unusual signals,” Sid said. “Just to be safe.”

Cara gave a grateful smile to Sid. “Look, I don’t think we’ll have any problems but let’s make sure we’re ready for anything. The more prepared we are, the smoother everything will go, and the faster we can get off this rock.”

“Well, you heard the Boss lady, let's get to it,” Kasumi said, hopping up from her seat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The five hours went by uneventful, each team member attending to the final aspects of their job. 

The new intel allowed Kasumi to successfully scout the east side and get eyes on the artifact. It was an eight or nine-foot-tall tower with green glass encasing alien electronics. There were guards posted all around it, but Kasumi's new stealth field made her invisible. She was even able to establish video surveillance on the item. The video feeds showed scientist after scientist studying the device. They ran tests and took notes, then ran more tests and took more notes. It seemed they were attempting to get it to power up, but each try ended in failure. 

Sloane went into Constance to meet up with her former colleagues, trying to find an easier way onto the dig site but to no avail. Zaeed and Cael worked on finishing up concussion rounds and tranq grenades for which a smuggler working at the docks had schematics. Reza worked on the ship. He checked the engines, shielding, and limited weapons, doing whatever he could to make the _Night Fox_ faster, stronger, and able to defend itself if needed. Everyone else either waited around the ship mentally preparing or took time to check out the sites that Eden Prime had to offer. 

Jack and Shepard found themselves in the latter group, on the main strip, far away from the military base, window shopping. Jack was looking for a new jacket, and Shepard, a new Wizards sweatshirt since Jack had yet to replace the one she destroyed. They'd already been into three shops without any luck.

"Hey, what do you say we grab a bite?" Jack asked. "All this stuff's too boring anyway."

"Yeah, I could go for some food," Shepard agreed. There were numerous food kiosks along the main strip, selling anything from ramen to fried pies.

They chose a stall selling tacos and placed their orders. Once they received their food, they found a spot on one of the overlook patios that littered the area. Eden Prime was suitably named - the temperature was always a pleasant 22 to 28 degrees Celsius, and the seasons were mild at worst. It was lush with green vegetation as far as the eye could see, and the setting sun painted the atmosphere in burnt oranges and golden yellows. _It was pretty damn close to a paradise planet_ , Shepard thought as she ate her tacos. She watched as Jack looked out across the planet with an introspective look on her face.

"Ever think about living somewhere like this?" Shepard asked.

Jack snorted, "Hell no. It's too boring." She took a bite of her last taco, "But," she said thoughtfully around a mouthful of food, "I like the sunset. Might be good colors for my next tat."

"Is that where your inspiration comes from, the places we visit?" Shepard asked, her tone curious. She had always wondered what compelled Jack to decide on a particular tattoo design. She looked at a silent Jack, willing her to finally open up and answer.

"Sometimes, it's a place. Sometimes, it's a person, or feeling I get from the place or person," Jack said, her gaze still pointed towards the setting sun. "Sometimes, it's a reminder."

"Reminder of what?" Shepard pushed.

Jack shook her head and finished her taco, "You done, CJ? It's about time to head back."

Shepard looked at her empty plate, "Yeah, let's get going." She followed Jack, who kept in front of her, back to the ship. _Well, Cara, that's the most she's opened up about her tattoos since you've known her_ , Shepard thought. _Hopefully, that's a good thing. You better make sure everyone's ready for anything._

Once the crew was all on board, Cael followed docking take-off procedures, and they made their way to the designated hiding place. It was eight miles out from the dig site. They would take the cargo transport Reyes had secured at the designated hiding place earlier to a spot in the woods near the supplies dock, then work their way to the site from there.

Everyone was once again, gathered around the lounge - save for La'Dauna, who would stay at the medical center until she received the communication of "all's clear". Zaeed, as the crew's strategist, took the floor, laying out the night's plan. The coffee table lit up with a map of the area, highlighting specific points - guards' positions, the routes they would take, and the estimated time they would be at a specific point along their route. Kasumi, Keiji, and Reyes would play lookout, alerting the extraction team of any guards coming onto shift early or scientists coming to run tests. Zaeed, Jack, and Shepard would be the extraction team. 

Tranquilizer grenades would be used to incapacitate the watch guards. Then, as Zaeed watched their backs, Shepard and Jack would use their biotics to transport the thing to the cargo transport. Sloane would be back at the bar, keeping an eye on the area and making sure no one seemed alerted to any strange goings-on. Once they had the artifact loaded, they would take the transport to a clearing on the other side of the forest surrounding the south side of the dig site. The _Night Fox_ , under cover of the night sky, would fly low to the clearing, located on the edge of a cliff. They would load it up and be on their way. As far as plans went, it was one of the simpler ones they'd attempted.


	14. Best Laid Plans

Nightfall was in two hours. If anything went sideways, they were to retreat and meet back on Illium in two days. Shepard sat in her room, going over every outcome she could think of in her head. Planning further by figuring how she could succeed in getting out of said situations. Prepare yourself, Cara, her dad had told her when she was young, for any contingency. Picture it in your head and know how you can overcome the situation. Panicking will only make things worse.

The time had finally arrived. Kas, Keiji, and Reyes had left an hour earlier to get set up at their designated positions. Sloane went to the same bar as the night before, catching up with another set of military buddies and keeping an eye on things there. Zaeed, Jack, and Shepard had headed down to the dock. When they heard a chime in their comms, they disappeared discreetly into the nearby forest. They got dressed in their new armor, hidden in the forest earlier that day, then made their way quietly through the dense forest. Senses were alert in case of any unscheduled guards. The group used their new stealth mods to stay hidden when guards were running behind on their route. Their timing was perfect. They reached the valley, where the artifact awaited them, as the replacement guard arrived. They watched the new guard settle in, and the old guard leave, before lobbing the tranquilizer grenades. The canisters, wrapped in mesh cloth to soften the landing, came to rest behind the new guards and dispersed a sphere of gas around them. It took but a moment for the gas to work. They collapsed bonelessly to the ground at the base of the valley. Shepard and her group moved in. Kas and Keiji had given the all-clear, followed a moment later by Reyes. Shepard was the first to reach the artifact and walked around it once to scope it out and make sure there were no alarms or anything attached to it. It was surprisingly clear.

She began to wave the other two over and lit up the artifact with her biotics when two things happened. First, her comms crackled to life, Reyes' voice on the line with warning, and second, a familiar voice called out, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” 

Cara turned, losing focus on the artifact and her biotics, surprised by the voice of Ashley Williams. The couple of inches she had managed to lift the artifact off the grown disappeared quickly as gravity did its job. It returned to the ground with a thunk. 

A humming noise emitted from it, and Shepard turned back to see it light up - a sickly, green color glowing from behind the strange glass. Shepard had just enough time to look back at the surprised and confused face of Ashley Williams as she felt something pull her towards the artifact. She tried to break free from the force field or whatever it was but was unable to break its hold on her. It lifted her from her feet, and a second later, blinding pain crashed through her skull. It felt like someone was squeezing her head while forcing knives into her skull over and over. Fuzzy, unclear images raced through her mind. Some seemed familiar, while others were incomprehensible and completely alien in nature. None of them made sense. The pain continued until she thought her head was going to explode, then... blissful nothingness. 

When Shepard first regained consciousness, she could hear noises around her but couldn't decipher anything. She tried to open her eyes, but they were too heavy. The sound of clinking metal on metal sent shards of pain once again through her head, and she floated back to the void of silence and darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she came around for the second time, Cara thought she heard La'Dauna's voice. She tried to call out to her but could only groan. Footsteps approached the side of the bed, and her eyelid lifted without her permission. A bright light shined into her eyes, sending needles of pain through her head. She flinched away, regretting it as another wave of pain crashed through her skull. Once again, she returned to that glorious void of painless nothingness. 

The next time she gained consciousness, Shepard didn't feel as bad as she had the two times before. Her head, although still feeling like she'd been on a three-day drinking binge, was manageable. Shepard slowly opened one eye, testing her senses. No shooting pain or other hurts, so she opened the other one. She was in a hospital room. Well, that made sense, she thought. She tried to run her hand over her face to wake herself up more, but halfway there, she met resistance. A device around her wrist secured her to the hospital bed. She leaned forward to get a better look, then collapsed back onto the bed. "Fuck," she groaned to herself. She looked around the room again and finally saw the Alliance logo. She was in an Alliance military base, handcuffed to a bed. "Shit," she muttered.

She heard someone approach the door and pretended to be asleep. She didn't want to answer questions yet or deal with anything before she had time to think.

Someone entered the room and approached the end of the bed. Cara heard the beeping and clicking of a datapad. Her medical charts probably, she thought. They approached the side of her bed and checked her vitals and drips, then stood beside the bed. "Cara, I know you're awake." It was La'Dauna's voice.

Shepard peeked an eye open and saw La'Dauna standing over her, a concerned look on her face as she pretended to read her patient's medical charts. She tried to give the asari a carefree smile but didn't have the energy, and it turned into more of a grimace. "Hey," Cara said.

"What the hell happened out there?" La'Dauna asked, glancing between charts and current readouts.

"Not sure," Shepard said honestly. The last thing she remembered was waving over Jack and Zaeed. With that thought, she asked, "Is everyone else okay?"

"Everyone else got away safe, only because you managed to draw all the attention to yourself. What did you do?"

"I have no clue. How'd I get here?"

"They brought you in, unconscious. Said you somehow triggered the artifact." 

A vague memory of being dragged into the air by a sickly green light flashed through Shepard's mind, "What'd it do?"

"No one's sure. Your brainwaves were abnormal for the first ten hours you were out. Then they fluctuated between abnormal and normal for a couple of hours. They only normalized completely an hour ago."

"I've been out for how long?" Shepard asked, surprised.

"Almost fifteen hours. It's nearly 11 AM," La'Dauna said.

A small seed of dread, similar to what she had felt the day before, rose to the surface. Panic filled her voice as she said, "Dauna, we need to get out of here."

La'Dauna missed the panicked tone. "I am quite aware. Unfortunately, you've drawn a lot of attention to yourself. The plan is to throw you into the brig as soon as you are released from here. Then, let the big shots, who are coming to pick up the damn thing that did this to you, deal with you." There was a knock at the door. "A moment, I'm finishing up now," La'Dauna called. Shepard noticed, for the first time, there was a guard posted at her door.

"Dauna listen. I need you to make sure everyone, including you, gets off Eden Prime. Get as far away as you can, and warn the people in charge here. Those dreams I had, about that mech army, they weren't a figment of my imagination," Shepard said, her voice stern and sincere, but her eyes were wide with worry.

La’Dauna finally noticed the panic. "And what about you?"

"You just said I wasn't going anywhere soon, except the brig. I'll be fine. I've gotten myself out of bigger messes than this one."

La'Dauna started to protest, but Shepard cut her off, "Please, I need to know that you all will be safe. I can't lose another family."

La'Dauna was speechless for a moment, the raw emotion in Shepard's words freezing her in place. She felt Cara grab her hand and squeeze. "I'll make sure, Cara. Just please, you're our family, too. Get safe. If all hell breaks loose like you believe it's going to do..." La’Dauna trailed off not wanting to voice her concerns.

Shepard gave a half-hearted smirk, "I plan to be right in the middle of it, mom. Thanks." Shepard could feel the wetness of tears as they fell down her cheeks. She did her best to wipe them away with her shoulders, seeing as her wrists were bound.

La'Dauna smiled lovingly at Cara, tears forming in the asari’s own eyes, as she helped wipe away the tears Shepard couldn't reach. When Cara's cheeks were dry, La'Dauna gave a last squeeze to Cara's hand and left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard dozed off and on throughout the rest of the morning. A few nurses and doctors came in to check on her, but not La'Dauna. Shepard hoped she had done what she’d asked of her.

Finally, a little before noon, an older looking gentleman, balding with hair graying on the sides, came in, giving her a smile, and looked at her charts. Shepard hadn't seen him before but figured him to be another doctor. He moved with the proficiency of someone in the medical field, so she gave him no second thought. After looking at her charts for a moment and checking her current readouts, he went back to the foot of her bed.

"Looks like everything's back to normal. No more weird brain waves or anything like that." He gave Shepard, who hadn't talked to anyone since La'Dauna had left, a curious look. "That said, with head injuries, you can't ever be too sure. Do you wanna tell me what happened? It might be important to your health."

Shepard cocked her head at the subtle threat behind his words, wondering whether it was purposeful or not. Between that and his attempt at sounding professional but missing the mark, set off warning bells in her head. She stayed silent. 

The man acting as a doctor tried again. "If you’ve got nothing to give us, I'm gonna have to release you, and they're going to take you to the brig, which is a lot less comfortable." His words seemed more threatening than caring. 

Shepard kept silent, only staring at the man.

"As you wish," he said, "the guards will be here shortly to take you to the brig." He stepped outside the room to talk to the guard. 

Shepard relaxed, Maybe she was being paranoid. Or not, she thought as the doctor stepped back into the room. 

He watched the guard leave. When he turned back to Shepard, his demeanor had changed. He was no longer playing a concerned doctor. He still smiled, but the smile didn't reach his cold, hard eyes that narrowed as he approached the bed. "I need to know what that device showed you," the man snarled, an obvious heir of menace to his words and movement, “and your cooperation isn’t necessary.”

Shepard tried to back away, pulling at her bindings and biotics. The bindings on her wrists didn’t budge, and her biotics were non-responsive. A single IV in her arm, giving her fluids to keep her hydrated, allowed a place for the man to insert a needle and release a small amount of pale pink liquid into the drip. Cara tried to call out, but a firm hand over her mouth muffled her shout.

Shepard tried to get the IV out but couldn't reach it. She struggled a few more seconds before she felt herself getting sluggish. What the hell was going on? was the last coherent thought she had before she was floating. Her thoughts, floating away with her. Her eyes traveled around the room, aimless, unable to focus on anything.

The man watched for a second as the woman gazed listlessly around the room, then went over and checked the door. He looked back at the woman, then walked over to her bedside and grabbed her chin, turning her face towards him. "Listen to my voice," the man said. 

Shepard's eyes moved slowly until they noticed the person talking to them. When did he get here? the thought floated through her mind then was gone. She gave what she thought was a smile.

The man gave a quick smile back and said, "That's it, focus on me." He waited a moment longer to make sure he had as much of her attention as he could get. "Now, tell me what you saw from the artifact."

Shepard jerked her head out of the man's fingers and let out a crazed laugh that stopped abruptly. Unknown but familiar images flashed through her mind. Her pupils blew wide with fear, and her pallor whitened to that of a ghost. "The end," she whispered.

"What exactly did the Protheans show you?" he prodded.

"Death, destruction," Shepard slurred as the drug began impairing her speech, "no escape."

"Focus, girl," the man said, shaking her and looking back at the door, "Where's the conduit?"

The images, clearer than they had been before, began flashing through her mind again. Death. Destruction. Total annihilation of a species and their culture. She began to hyperventilate, panic filling her body and mind. She pulled at the cuffs on her arms, trying to get free. "They're coming," she said. A simple matter of fact statement. Then, "THEY'RE COMING!" A spine-tingling scream of fear and defeat.

The door burst open, and a soldier rushed in, pushing Shepard down and trying to hold her. "What happened, Doctor?"

"I don't know," he lied, putting on a good show of being afraid. "One moment we were talking, the next, she was acting like a woman possessed." He moved to a set of cabinets in the room and removed a syringe and vile from one of the locked cabinets. After pulling liquid from the vial, he inserted half of it into the drip. "This should calm her down," he told the soldier, who was still struggling to hold the woman down. The doctor watched as the blonde woman calmed down, her body relaxing as her eyes fluttered shut. That would keep her out for at least a couple of hours, long enough for him to disappear and alert his associate of the complications. He pocketed the half-full syringe, making sure to cap the needle. It might come in handy later.

The guard released the now docile, sleeping woman. "They were getting ready to take her to the brig. Is that still a good idea?" the guard asked, concerned.

"She'll be fine. There are no immediate health issues," the doctor assured the soldier. "I'll send someone down to her for a psych eval when she wakes, but she should be fine to take to the brig. Keep her locked up, so she doesn't hurt herself, but health-wise she's perfectly okay." The doctor patted the soldier on the shoulder, "Thanks for the assist. Don't know if I would have been able to keep her from hurting herself, pulling at those cuffs like she was."

The soldier smiled then shrugged, "Just doing my duty, Sir. I need to get her down to the brig. I have a guard who should be on their way up with a liftchair. I'll make sure she gets where she's going safely, Doctor. You can finish your rounds, or whatever you need to do."

"Thank you, again," the man glanced at the soldier's nameplate, "Taylor. You were a big help in there," the man said. He took one more look at the patient before leaving the room and heading for the building's exit.

Jacob Taylor looked at the unconscious woman. Well, things just got a lot more difficult, he thought to himself. He peeked his head out the door but didn't see anyone. He went back into the room and tried to rouse the woman. Nothing. Whatever the doctor had dosed her with was potent. A thought crossed his mind, and he pulled up a medical program on his omnitool. He waved his arm over the prone woman. His omni beeped at him, and he looked at the results. An eyebrow raised at the readout his omnitool was giving him. Psychoactive drugs in her system, for what purpose? He looked back at the door, Did that doctor do this, or is it a side effect of the prothean thing? Jacob shook his head, he didn't have time to figure this out. He needed to get her a message, but now that she was unconscious, how was he going to do that?

"She ready," a voice asked at the door.

Jacob cursed under his breath, then turned to the woman in the doorway. The dark-haired soldier looked at him, then the sleeping woman questioningly. "The doctor had to sedate her. I got up here and she was trying to break out of her cuffs, raving about someone being here. He said she was okay to go to the brig though. Physically she's fine. He's supposed to send psych to see her later."

"Sure, whatever. Let's just get going, so I can get the hell out of here. Hospitals give me the jeebies." She pushed the liftchair forward and parked it next to the bed. "You get feet, I'll get the shoulders?" she asked, undoing the end of the cuff around the bedrail and attaching it to the chair.

"Yeah, let's get this done." Well shit, Jacob thought, moving to the foot of the bed and uncovering the sleeping woman. As he helped move Shepard into the liftchair and secure her, his foot hit something under the bed. He turned to see if the dark-haired soldier was paying attention, but she was already pushing Shepard out the door. He bent over and reached underneath the bed. A bag was hidden there. He opened it and an idea formed. He straightened, with the bag of clothing in his hand, and followed his fellow soldier out the door.


	15. If You Can't Do the Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to all those in the southern US, dealing with all those crazy winter storms, hope everyone is fairing okay, and a thank you to everyone who is still following along.

Shepard once again awoke to a headache that rivaled all her other headaches. She peeked an eye open and even the dim light made her feel like a krogan was squeezing her head like a stress ball. She closed her eye and reached for her head, forgetting for a second the handcuffs, but she was surprised when her hands found her temples without resistance. Shepard froze in place when a flash of memory spiked through her mind. Well, she thought, this is either very good or very bad. The throbbing in her head had subsided for the moment, and she peeked open her eyes. The lighting was dim and still sent small needles through her head, but it was bearable. She looked around, careful not to move too fast lest her head explode with pressure. After her eyes made the loop around, Cara concluded it wasn't all that terrible. She did, after all, figure to end up here.

Cara groaned and bit the inside of her cheek as she sat up, her head protesting every second of it. Shepard kept her head still and moved only her eyes to check out her surroundings - three walls of bars and one of solid stone. She wiped a hand over her face and through her hair, glad to have that freedom of movement back at least. A wave of dizziness caused Cara to brace herself on the solid stone bench she was sat. She noticed, for the first time, the bag sitting next to her. After the dizzy spell passed, Shepard grabbed the bag and looked inside. Oh, she thought, looking down at what she wore, hadn't even noticed. A set of drab, grey military-issued medical scrubs and a pair of too thick socks covered her person. She wiggled her toes, trying to figure a way out of her current predicament. A moment passed with no clear next move. She shrugged. Might as well be wearing your own clothes, Shepard thought. Especially, if what you think's going to happen is going to happen, she winced at the confusing thought. Reaching into the bag, Shepard pulled out a pair of pants and shook them. Shepard smiled when she saw they were hers. Thanks, Dauna, she thought, standing to remove the issued ones.

"So, you're finally awake."

Shepard froze at the sound. A memory flashed through her mind -- the moment that led to her being here in this cell. She turned to her left, noticing for the first time there was someone in the cell a couple ones down from hers. "Ashley?"

"Yep, the idiot who fell for your so-called charm," the dark-haired woman spat.

Scratching the side of her head, Shepard asked, with honest confusion, "What are you doing in there?"

"You're kidding, right?" Ashley asked, an unamused laugh falling from her lips. "My roster was still on your omni when they found you."

Shepard stared at Ashley, tilting her head to try and understand what she'd been told.

"They think I'm your accomplice," Ashley said, flinging her arms up, "when really, I'm just an idiot who met a charming stranger in a bar and took a leap of faith." Ashley shook her head in disgust, muttering, "You really know how to pick'em, Ash." She wrapped her arms around herself.

Silence fell between the two women as Shepard processed everything. A disbelieving snort filled the quiet, "They think you helped me? Why? If I remember correctly, and things are a bit fuzzy still, so I could be wrong, but you actually caught me." Shepard walked to the bars and rested her face against them to get as close to Ashley as she was able.

Ashley tapped her nose. "In one, Jane, if that’s even your real name, but...” she turned away from Shepard and didn’t notice her flinch, “I'm a Williams."

"Okaay?" Shepard said, still confused, ignoring the jab at her honesty because who could blame Ashley.

"I don't even know why I'm talking to you," Ashley said, ignoring Shepard’s confusion. Ashley shrugged, "Maybe, I just want to know why?" She turned back towards Jane and looked through the bars into Shepard's eyes, "Why me?"

Shepard almost crumbled under the sad brown-eyed stare but managed to push her feelings away and back into a box. There wasn't time for this right now. She needed to find a way out. Shepard shrugged, "It had to be someone." She broke eye contact and pushed away from the bars. "I needed the guard's routes and shifts." Gods, she hated herself more with every word.

Ashley turned her back and didn't respond. 

There was silence in the brig, again, as Cara finished dressing. The only sound was cloth shifted and folded and sliding over skin. As she pulled the last item out of the bag, she heard something fall to the ground. Looking around on the floor, she discovered a small communications device. It was the size of a small pebble. She glanced over at Ashley, who paid her no more attention, then at the rest of the cells. It was only the two of them. She picked the device up and slipped it into her ear as she put her vest on and straightened it over her shoulders. 

"What does you being a Williams have to do with anything?" Shepard asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Ashley turned around. "What?" she asked, now the one confused.

"You said you were in here because you're a Williams."

"What does it matter? Why do you even care?"

She does have a point, Shepard said. You're such an asshole. Aloud she said, "Because it doesn't make any sense. You don't put the person who found the perp and called it in, in a jail cell."

"Well, when your grandfather is  _ the _ General Williams..." she was unable to finish her sentence.

"Wait a minute," Shepard said, interrupting her, a sick feeling forming in her stomach, "from Shanxi?" She was leaning with her face pressed between the bars so she could see Ashley better.

Ashley's hackles rose as they usually did whenever someone mentioned Shanxi, but Shepard's wasn't the normal disgusted tone she was used to hearing. "Yes," she answered hesitantly.

Shepard closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, banging her head against the bars once before stopping and wincing at the pain that shot through it. I fucked up so big this time, dad, she thought. How do I fix this? The turmoil in her stomach amplified. She swallowed down the bile that was rising.

Ashley watched with curiosity the emotions that washed across Jane's face.

Shepard's eyes opened and locked onto Ashley's, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression. "Look, I know this isn't going to mean shit right now, and I realize I'm probably the last person in the universe you want to hear this from, but," Shepard paused to collect herself and make sure Ashely was listening. When Shepard was sure she had Ashley's attention, she continued, "I owe you, and not just for this here now. I owe you and your family, especially your grandad, so, so much.” She could feel her throat tightening and swallowed before continuing, “I know you're going to think I'm absolutely out of my mind when I ask you this but please… please trust me?"

Ashley folded her arms with a scoff and offered a disbelieving look in her direction.

Shepard ignored it and pushed on, "There's something going on here that's bigger than a botched theft. That artifact..." Shepard pulled in a deep shuddering breath, holding back forming tears, "that artifact put something in my mind. Images. Scenes. Of destruction and mass murder. Whole planets, wiped out by these... things."

Ashely shook her head, breaking eye contact. "You expect me to trust you? To believe you?" she said with a disbelieving chuckle.

"Look, I know, okay," Shepard said, trying to get through, and at least try to make things, if not right, better, "I told you it sounded crazy. But, sometime very soon, there will be an attack on Eden Prime by an army of mechs."

Ashley locked eyes with Shepard and yelled, "What!? How do you know this? We have to tell someone! What have you done?"

"No! No. It's not me, I promise," Shepard pleaded in an attempt to reassure the woman. "I had my people send out a message earlier today to warn the people in charge, but from what I saw, before I was drugged and thrown down here, they weren’t taken seriously and have gone unheeded." Shepard watched a battle rage in the brunette's stunning eyes. Eyes still guarded and angry with her.

Ashley's mind was telling her not to trust this stranger, this woman who had landed her in the brig, and a possible dishonorable discharge. But, she could see the regret and the urgency were real enough. Her reason was losing to something else, something Ashley didn't want to think about. "Why were you drugged?" Ashley finally asked. 

"Not entirely sure. There was a doctor, or maybe he wasn't a doctor. Anyway, after he checked my charts, and I couldn't tell him anything more about what happened with the artifact, he sent the guard away. He told me if I didn't want to cooperate, that was fine, then put this pink liquid stuff into my IV and started asking me what the artifact had shown me. What had I seen?" Shepard shuddered at the flash of images that passed behind her eyes. She shook her head, not wanting to think about what the chemical made her see any more than she had already. "Everything went a little fuzzy and confusing after that. I vaguely remember shouting about something and another man, then, the next thing I know I'm waking up down here."

Ashley was unsure if she believed Jane or not. Opening her mouth to ask another question, a thundering boom from overhead cut her off, and the earth shook, dust falling from the ceiling. Ashley looked up in alarm over to Jane. The woman had a finger pressed to her ear, and her face scrunched with intensity like she was listening to something. A moment later, the scrunched face smoothed into a wide smile, and Jane started talking to someone. Ashley froze in awe at the sight of the genuine smile before throwing her hands in the air. What in the ninth layer of hell was going on?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since Sid had received the partially decoded information from Kasumi and Keiji, her computer had been searching for anything of relevance. The partial name they’d given her had been run through database after database and narrowed down to belonging to a turian. After a few calls to people who owed her a favor, Sid gained access to Palaven’s population registry and was waiting patiently for the name to match one of the many billion names.

While she waited, Sid worked on a couple of other projects from her never-ending list and kept her eyes on the few other queries she had running. After typing furiously at her keyboard for a minute, she sat back and sighed. Sid glanced at the screen that monitored the members of the crew who were groundside. Jack, Zaeed, and Sloane were working on a way to get Shepard out of her current situation. They’d already enlisted the help of Sloane’s friend and were waiting for him to get back to them.

Sid sighed again. She wished she got to go groundside more often. Most of the time she was stuck on the ship, behind the scenes. Being the youngest sucked, not to mention her overprotective sister. She was still on clean-up duty for sneaking out with Cael when they stopped at the Citadel. She grumbled to herself and focused back on her current project when one of her computers’ pinged a warning. She was confused for a second before pushing her chair to the proper computer and calling into her comms, “Vee get in here. Quick.”

As Sid waited the minute it took her sister to get to her, she pulled up as much information as she could. She was staring stunned at the screen when her sister marched through the door.

“What?! What is it?” Vetra asked, hurrying to Sid’s side. She saw the screen her sister had pulled up. The frozen picture on the screen showed a fleet of unfamiliar ships advancing toward Eden Prime. The one leading was gargantuan - bigger than any ship she had ever seen. “Fuck me,” she breathed out in shock. Immediately she activated her comms. “Jack, change of plans. Do whatever you have to do, but get our girl and get back to the ship. Turns out she was right about that attack. You’ve got an hour tops.”

“Stupid, fucking, nothings ever easy…” Jack sputtered on her end of the comms, “Yeah copy, Vee. I’m gonna kill her.”

“Get in line,” Vetra said with a chuckle, patting Sid on the shoulder. She cut the comms with Jack. “Call everyone to ready stations. We’ll need to get going as soon as they get back.”

“Yeah,” Sid agreed. She breathed in a deep breath to calm her nerves. Okay maybe groundside work could wait a little longer, she thought as she tapped a message to the rest of the crew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as the boom came from overhead, Shepard heard her earpiece crackle, then Jack's voice came over the line.

"Hey, CJ, can you hear me?"

A smile spread across Cara's face without her permission, "What the hell, Jack? What are you still doing here?" The smile began to fade with the realization her crew, her family, was still on world. "Was that you?"

"Nope, some big fucking monster space ship just entered atmo. Things are going to shit up here. Oh, and I'm getting your ass out of trouble again.”

"I told you all to get off the fucking planet. Leave the cluster.” Shepard began pacing and running her hand through her hair.

"Yeah, like we were going to leave your dumbass behind. I still owe you an ass-kicking. Make it two now, you stupid fuck. Now, shut up and listen."

"Yeah, go ahead," Shepard said, stopping in her tracks as a grin spread across her face again.

"You got help coming your way," Jack said, "Sloane and her friend should be there right about," Shepard heard a large crack as the door to the brig was forced open, "now."

"Yeah, they're here. But we're going to have company. I've got someone that needs to come with us."

"Tell them. They brought the keys, so to speak. I gotta go, things are getting fun out here. See you soon."

The line went dead as Sloane approached the cell. "I should leave your arse in here. Stupid stunt you pulled the night before."

"Missed you, too, Sloane. Let's fight later. If what I think is out there is out there, we're not gonna want to stick around." She looked over Sloane's shoulder at the dark-skinned man she had met at the bar, "Jacob, I really appreciate what you’re doing. You leave the earpiece?"

He nodded, "I owed Sloane one." He gave Sloane a pointed look, "This make us even?"

"Yeah, we're good, Taylor," Sloane said, waving her hand at him in exasperation.

He nodded again and turned to leave.

"You're not sticking around?" Shepard asked.

"I've got a colony to protect," he said, waving over his shoulder. "See you on the other side of the storm, hopefully."

"Thanks, again," Shepard hollered as he went through the door at a jog.

"Step back, Shepard," Sloane said as she slathered omni gel on the locking mechanism. Shepard did. She watched as it sizzled and popped, burning through the lock. As soon as it finished, Sloane was pulling the door open and heading for the exit.

"Wait," Shepard said, walking towards Ashley's cell.

Sloane stopped and looked over her shoulder. Watching Shepard walk over to another woman behind bars, Sloane groaned and rolled her eyes, then joined Shepard at her side.

Shepard looked at Ashley with pleading eyes. "Look, I know you still have no reason to trust me -- or my people, but this is not a good place to be right now. I'm going to let you out. After that, you can choose to come with me and my friends, who have a ride off this planet, or stay with an organization, who punishes people and their family - no matter how good of soldiers they are - for making a tough call."

Ashley listened in silence, stunned by Jane's words.

Shepard ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath, trying to ease the agitation and emotions coursing through her as she spoke her next words. "My dad was one of those soldiers down on Shanxi, and my mom was a citizen." She could feel her throat tighten as she continued. "What your grandad did saved both their lives that day, and, in doing so, mine as well. He's a hero in my book. One of the bravest and most honorable soldiers the Alliance had before they fucked him over." Shepard cleared her throat. "I fucked up, Ashley Williams, and I'm sorry I got you caught up in this mess. I can't change the past, but I can try to do better in the present."

To say Jane's words had surprised Ashley would be putting it mildly. Her grandfather was usually only mentioned with derision outside of her family. Most of her superiors sneered at the Williams's name and did everything they could to break her and her spirit. Ashley didn't know what to think of the renegade blonde woman with the disarming smile, who was exuding sincerity at the moment.

Sloane stood, with mouth ajar, surprised for a different reason. She had never heard Cara Shepard ever speak of her parents. Whoever this woman was, Sloane knew Cara wouldn't leave here without her. She pushed Shepard aside. "You might wanna step back, gorgeous," Sloane said, applying omni gel to the door lock. She watched the soldier do as asked, still with a bewildered look about her.

Free of her holding cell, Ashley Williams silently followed the two other women out of the brig and into the increasing noise above. Soldiers and civilians alike were running in every direction when they hit the top of the stairs. The darker-skinned woman dug into one of her many pockets and pulled out a silver band, tossing it to Jane, then a small chip, handing it to her. "Think you could use these about now." Ashley watched Jane clip the silver band on her wrist and insert the chip into a small slot at the base of her hairline. 

Shepard grinned as she slipped her omni tool on her wrist and inserted her biotics amp into the spot at the nape of her neck. A calm flowed through her at the resurgence of biotics. She hadn't realized how anxious she had been when she couldn’t feel them. "Williams," Shepard said, turning to see the woman watching her. Ashley's eyes jumped to hers, and she gave the soldier a small smile. It wasn't returned. Cara’s smile faltered and she asked, "You got an armory somewhere around here? I've got my biotics back, and she's got her gun." Shepard pointed a thumb in Sloane's direction as the woman unfolded her Vindicator rifle. "But, I'd feel much safer with more firepower."

Ashley nodded and headed off to the right without a word. She didn’t know why she was trusting this woman again, but the situation didn’t allow for reflection. As a point to the thought, the concussive force of an explosion shook the building. Some people screamed in fright while others continued to run past them and towards the sound of fighting. Ashley picked up her pace. She needed to get out of here and help.

Shepard followed behind, and rolling her eyes, Sloane followed Shepard. After a couple of twists and turns, they arrived at a nearly empty armory. “You need to suit up quick, people are waiting for us,” Sloane said, guarding the door.

Shepard nodded and began rummaging through the gun racks, except for a few pistols and two larger weapons, there was nothing left. The heavy artillery was gone. The two larger weapons were an M-8 Avenger assault rifle and an M-27 Scimitar shotgun. They also found a small cache of grenades, six in all, overlooked because someone had shoved them behind cleaning supplies.

Ashley grabbed a pistol and the Avenger rifle from the rack. She pushed a button near the end of the gun racks, and a part of the wall slid open to reveal what remained of the military hardsuits. She began to suit up as Jane picked up a pistol and the M-27. Ashley still hadn't said anything to the blonde. If she were honest with herself, she didn't know what to say. So, she grabbed a black chest plate with a blue stripe across it and tossed it at Jane. When Jane looked at her with a raised eyebrow, Ashley pointed to a nearly full set of armor. The helmet was missing and one of the shoulder guards, but it would keep the blonde safe, Ashley discerned.

"Thanks," Cara said. She paused as her earpiece crackled back to life.

"Guddam it, Cara, where are you? Things are going down the...," and the signal cut off with an electronic screech that had Shepard grabbing for her ear.

"Son of a bitch," Shepard griped, ripping the earpiece out of her ear and sticking it in her pocket. "Comms are down," she told the two women with her, "we need to hurry." Shepard removed the rest of the armor from the closet and started getting into it. She looked at the last piece, the chest plate with its blue stripe, and heaved a heavy sigh. Though she had promised herself she would never wear alliance blue, she figured this was as good a reason for an exception if there ever was one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breaking out of the brig and loading up in the armory took only twenty minutes, but things outside had escalated with surprising speed. Swarms of advanced mechs had invaded the military base, rendering any coordination from it useless. 

When the trio stepped outside, there were dead bodies all around. Many had gruesome gaping wounds from what looked to be some sort of plasma weapon. The Alliance soldiers still alive were managing to hold the remaining enemy forces back but were quickly losing ground. Sloane looked around then tapped Shepard on the shoulder and pointed towards the forest where Jack and Zaeed were waiting, then began walking.

Shepard turned to Ashley, who stared in shock at the carnage. She laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, "Hey, my ships that way if you want to come."

Ashley, shocked out of her haze by the squeeze on her shoulder, looked at Jane. It took a second to realize what she'd said, "Wait! You're leaving?!"

"Yeah. If you hadn't noticed Judgement Day is upon us." Shepard swept her arm across the carnage. "Live to fight another day and all that."

"Fine, go," Ashley said. Her expression formed into a blank, emotionless mask. She removed her assault rifle from its hardpoint and turned, jogging to take up a position beside a fellow soldier.


	16. Rage Against the Machines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick heads up, this chapter was originally around 8,100 words. I've broken it into two. This first part, in particular, is still pretty long compared to my other chapters sitting right around 4,700 words.
> 
> Let me know if you like these longer chapters (4,000 -5,000 words) or prefer the chapters around the length I've been posting (2,500 - 3,500 words). I've got a few more chapters that I'm working on editing that could go either way with the length.

Cara stared after Ashley a moment before Sloane called to her. She shook her head and chased after Sloane, who was disappearing into the trees. Well, what did you think was going to happen? Shepard asked herself as she and Sloane made their way through the thick forest, following after Jack and Zaeed. Did you think she was going to abandon her duty because of a little family blacklisting? Hell, she already knew what was waiting for her but joined the Alliance anyway, Cara. 

Her thoughts were flying through her head at Mach speeds, and her attention was less than optimal. Shepard was so caught up in her own head, she didn't notice two drones appear from behind a large boulder. Her shields fizzled, and alarms blared as two shots splashed across them. Without thought, she threw up a biotic barrier, which was the only thing that saved her life, when the third shot, a small rocket, impacted and knocked her backward into a tree.

Sloane hollered something Shepard didn't catch. Doing her best to keep consciousness, Shepard shook her head, but the motion was too much, and her vision blurred. Shepard blacked out. Then, she was awake again, but she was no longer in the dense forest. She was passing through a thin copse of trees, and a dark-haired man in alliance armor was beside her. They were moving forward with caution around a bend. Suddenly, two more of those drones appeared. Both she and the man - Alenko, the name came to her - took them down using well-placed shots and biotics, knowing how deadly they were. The bend opened onto a small hill with a scattering of trees and a long boulder near the top. More gunfire could be heard ahead, and they rushed forward. 

Shepard stopped in her tracks when she saw a woman sprinting from more of those drones and what she now knew to be Geth. She ran for cover behind the rock and fired off a few rounds at the machines to help the fleeing woman. A well-thrown grenade left the woman's hand, taking out two of the walking platforms, and a spray of over-the-shoulder gunfire knocked out the shields of one of the flying drones. Shepard seized the opportunity and removed the threat with a round of shots. There were still two walkers and a drone remaining to eliminate. The woman's rifle overheated, and she pulled out her pistol. Shepard watched as the woman leapt and turned in mid-air, landing on her back. Her momentum allowed her to slide along the ground into cover as she fired. The woman downed the flying drone with three accurate shots, then scrambled for nearby cover. The walkers were gaining ground, and her weapons weren't cooling fast enough. Shepard leapt from cover to draw attention away from the hunted woman and shot round after round at the Geth as she tried to find new cover. Alenko also fired precise rounds into the machines, followed by tech attacks to confuse them and jam their weapons.

Finally, they were able to drop the remaining two Geth. Both observed their surroundings as they caught their breath. Shepard saw the woman get up from behind the rock she was using for cover and approach them. Before the woman even removed her helmet, Shepard knew who she would see. Although the face was covered, in a sheen of sweat and grime, despite the helmet covering, Shepard knew it was Ashley. The woman was breathing heavily; a weight of sadness and anger filling her rich brown eyes.

Shepard gasped and was again, staring at a densely tree-covered forest. Two sparking drones were on the ground, and Sloane, Jack, and Zaeed were standing over her, Sloane trying to rouse her. "Geth," Cara gasped, the tone confused and disbelieving. Her side ached, and so did her head -- worse than it had.

"What was that, Shepard?" Sloane asked, offering a hand to help her off the dirt.

"It's the Geth," Cara said more loudly, taking the offered hand.

Sloane looked to Zaeed and Jack with concern. She turned back to Shepard who was checking herself over. "The Geth? Doesn't seem likely. They 'aven't left the veil for hundreds of years according to galactic history," Sloane said with a scoff. "You sure you're okay, Shepard. That head of yours sure has taken a beating these past coupla days."

Shepard looked at the others and saw their worried looks. "My head hurts like a bitch, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to vomit everywhere in the next couple of seconds, but those are Geth," Shepard said, pointing at the dead drones.

Jack looked at Shepard, then at the drones, "All the more reason to get the fuck out of here." She readied her shotgun and began walking to the ship again.

"No," Shepard said, looking back the way they had come. "I've got to go back. I can't leave..." Shepard caught herself. What? You can't leave a stranger you just met behind. They wouldn’t understand, would they?

"What are you going on about, Cara?” Zaeed asked, turning to look at her as he followed Jack. “Get your ass moving. We need to get out of here."

"Look, go on, get to the ship. Tell them to take off," Shepard said, checking her weapons, "I'll get another ride. I've got something to do," and with that, she took off in a sprint the direction from which they came.

“Cara, guddam it,” Zaeed yelled as Jack threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Bloody stupid git," Sloane swore. She looked after Cara, already disappearing into the dense wood. "Fuck,” Sloane said, "Should we go after her?"

“No,” Zaeed sighed, “let’s get back to the ship.”

“I’ll kill her,” Sloane growled.

“Get in line,” Jack and Zaeed said at the same time. They all turned and headed towards the ship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard crashed through the trees, not noticing as they lashed at her bare face, hoping she was going the right way. The trees all looked the same, and the forest was so dense it was difficult to see the original path they had taken. A loud, bassy humming noise saturated the air, and a piercing pain shot through her head. Cara collapsed to her knees, both hands grasping her head. Gritting her teeth, she fought through the pain and nausea. She managed to push the pain away, but her stomach turned, and she emptied the meager contents of her stomach onto the ground. Cara wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then pushed herself to her feet and started running again. Her pace, much slower than before. After another fifty yards, the trees began to thin, and she pushed forward, hoping she would come out somewhere near the place she last saw Ashley Williams.

The edge of the forest came up, and Cara slowed to a stop. This wasn't where she had entered. Shepard looked around, trying to find anything familiar. A building, far to her left, could be the base she had come from, but all the buildings looked the same, and there were too many obstacles for her to be sure. A few unmade prefabs were littering the ground two hundred yards off to her right, and, beyond that, a prefab only half put together. There also looked to be another building not too much further away, but a rock outcropping blocked her view. Quieting her breathing the best she could, Shepard listened hard for any sound of nearby gunfire or voices. She could hear both in the distance, but nothing indicated anyone nearby.

Shepard, with her shotgun held in a firm grip, inched out of the forest, careful in case any Geth drones were around. When she was clear, and there was nothing that attacked her, Cara made her way to higher ground, hoping to get a better read on the situation. Staying as low as possible, Shepard kept her head on a swivel, watching for any movement. The top of the hill she crested offered a clear view of her surroundings. The building she had seen on her right, she could now see was a docking station. Cara turned to her left, and her heart leapt into her throat. She could see more clearly the building she now knew to be the Alliance base. Smoke billowed from its windows and a gaping hole in the front of it, even from this distance Cara could tell it was abandoned. There was no movement anywhere near it that she could see from her high perch. Cara hung her head. She was too late.

A screeching noise drew her attention back to the right, and what she saw was like something from a nightmare or horror flick. Unable to see them before, due to the rock face in her way, she could now see long, metallic spikes like teeth rising to the sky. On the tip of each, a human hung impaled through the torso. Limbs splayed and hanging lifeless. Another screech and her eyes were drawn to a lowering spike.

A sparking, blue humanoid figure slid off the device before rising like the undead. Shit, Shepard thought, what in the fuck is going on here? She crouched down and worked her way back down the hill. Once at the bottom, she stood up and eased her way around the edge of the rock face, hoping to get a better view of the docking station. With her shotgun clutched to her chest, Cara took a deep calming breath and peeked around the corner. A snarling mask of death met her face to face. It screeched a metallic scream and grabbed at her.

Shepard pushed away from the wall, leveled her shotgun at the thing's chest, and pulled the trigger. The blast from the shotgun blew the techno skeleton back a few feet, but it didn't go down. It yelled again and ran at her, electricity sparking all over its form. Shepard's eyes widened, and she pulled the trigger again on her shotgun. Finally, the creature collapsed to the ground, strands of electricity jumping all around it before it overloaded in an explosion of sparks.

"Hooollly shit," Shepard said, breathing a sigh of relief. That thing was once human, she thought, horrified. She moved forward to get a better look at the thing. Metal encased every part of the skeleton, and a thin but tough layer of blue-gray skin covered it. Wires weaved in and out all over the body. "Fuck," Shepard said, "fuck, fuck, fuck." Shepard looked around, making sure no more of those things were going to sneak up on her, but the area was clear of them. She knew there were more. She saw at least a dozen of those teeth spikes from the hill, each with bodies on them. Now, however, all twelve spikes had retracted and were empty of bodies.

The sound of gunfire further ahead made Cara move again. The further Cara traveled, the more familiar things seemed - the arrangement of prefabs, the way the trail curved. She couldn't figure out why until a bend in the trail dipped down towards a small valley, and Shepard came upon a familiar scene. She was at the dig site. The sound of gunfire was closer than before, and she looked for the source. There, only a hundred yards away, a single soldier ran from a handful of pursuing machines.

Shepard didn't hesitate, taking off towards the soldier and the Geth. Bringing forth her biotics and with nothing more than a thought, she flung herself forward into the back of one of the enemy troops. It flew forwards into the trooper ahead of it. They both tumbled to the ground. Before they could get up, Shepard had put a round in each of them, leaving them where they lay, unmoving. There were still three more chasing the lone soldier, who Shepard knew without a doubt was Ashley Williams. 

A humming sound came from the right, and she saw two flying drones come over a hill -- one headed for Ashley, the other for her. She ducked behind a rock and waited until it closed in before popping from cover and blasting it with her shotgun. Its shields went down with two successful hits, but her weapon had overheated. Cursing at Alliance issued garbage, she threw a ball of biotic energy at the flying Geth, but it had little effect. Still cursing the stupid heating mechanism, she looked for a way out of the mess she'd gotten herself into once again. 

The sound of metal hitting metal sounded in her ears, and the drone dropped to the ground. Shepard looked around her cover and saw Ashley peeking from around another rock she had found to use as cover. Locking eyes with Ashley for a split-second, Shepard ducked back behind her rock. Her shotgun beeped, alerting her that it was ready to fire again. She rolled out of cover and aimed for one of the three ground troops still going after Ashley. Calling up her biotics once again, like a bolt of lightning, Cara hit the trooper closest to her and finished it with a shot to its lightbulb head.

That drew some attention away from Ashley, and one of the remaining Geth swung around to aim at Shepard, firing off a volley of plasma rounds. The first couple missed, but the third and fourth hit, burning through her shields. The fifth shot grazed her left forearm as she dove out of the way and behind cover. The plasma burned directly through the armor and left a blistering patch of skin a few inches long. "Stupid son of a bitch," Shepard cursed, "Fuck, that hurts." She reached for medi-gel only to remember she wasn't in her suit. "Damn it," she yelled through gritted teeth.

Breathing through the pain, Cara poked her shotgun out of cover, followed immediately by her eyes so she could see the metal bucket that shot her. She fired until her gun beeped a warning. The shields on the armor came back online a moment later, and Shepard pulled a biotic barrier around herself as she burst from cover. Her aim once again for the Geth that hit her, only to see that he was down. Ashley stood with her gun resting on her shoulder next to the last two Geth -- both were smoking and streaming whitish fluid on the ground.

"Jane?!" Ashley said, surprised to see the person who had helped her was someone she thought she would never see again. Ashely began to take a step towards the woman, but before she could, Jane aimed her shotgun at someone behind her.

"Stay where you are," Shepard yelled at the three figures coming closer.

The leader put away their weapon and showed their hands as a show of good faith, indicating the others should do the same. "We're friendly," a male voice said. It sounded familiar, but Shepard wasn't sure why.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked. "Williams, do you know them?"

Ashley had turned around with her rifle at the ready. She studied the three. They all wore Alliance-issued hardsuits with helmets, but they didn't have the emblem for Eden Primes combatants. "Not sure," she told Shepard.

The person in front answered. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Alenko, Alliance.” He pointed to his companions, “Lieutenant Chase and Corporal Roberts. We came to pick up the Prothean artifact and stumbled into... well, whatever the hell's going on here."

Shepard racked her brain to figure out where she knew that voice. Then it hit her. That dream, or vision, whatever it was that she'd had when the drone had knocked her backward into the tree. She lowered her shotgun. Ashley looked at her out of the corner of her eye, then did the same. "Where's your ship, Alenko?"

He pointed a thumb behind him, "Back waiting for us to call in for pick up, but we need to get the artifact first."

"There's Geth everywhere," Shepard said.

"Geth?" Roberts said, disbelieving. "Geth haven't been out of the Veil in over two centuries."

“Tell that to them, pal,” Shepard said, pointing to the mangled and bullet-riddled machines.

Alenko cocked his head and seemed to study Shepard. Shepard stood unflinching, not backing down from his scrutiny.

"The artifact’s gone," Ashley said, breaking the strained silence that had settled over the group. "It was down there in the valley when all this started." She pointed behind her from where Jane and she had just come. "I didn't see it when I came through."

"They might have taken it to the docking station," Shepard offered before she could stop herself. Why was she offering help? All she wanted was to make sure Ashley and herself got off this decomposing paradise in one piece.

"That's true. There were a lot of hostiles near there when my team and..." Ashley faltered for a moment before gathering herself together "...I got off the train. We were coming back to secure the area, but there were so many of them," her voice trailed off into silence.

Shepard looked at the brunette woman who had gone quiet. A hard look was on her face. Shepard knew that look. Then, a thought came to her. Oh no, they were by the station. Those things. Those zombie machines. They were the leftover husks of Ashley's team. Shepard's head swam, and the world seemed to tilt, then a hand was on her shoulder, and concerned brown eyes were looking into hers.

"You okay, Jane?"

"Um, yeah. I got knocked into a tree early." Cara rubbed the back of her head for emphasis. "I'll be fine."

Ashley gasped at the burn on Shepard's arm. "You were hit," she said, grabbing Cara's upper arm.

"Oh yeah," Cara chuckled, "that hurts like a motherfucker."

Ashley reached into one of her mesh pockets and pulled out a tube of medical coolant. She squeezed some over the hole in the arm of Shepard's armor.

The cool gel hit the burn, and Shepard felt the relief immediately. She sighed, then looked up at Ashley as she wrapped a cloth bandage around the area. "Thanks," Cara said softly.

Ashley only nodded, then turned back towards the waiting soldiers, "I can take you to the station. The way should be clear. Unless they sent in reinforcements, but they seem to be clearing out."

"That big ship already left," Shepard said, "which means the artifact has probably already left the planet. There's nothing else we can do here."

Alenko turned to Shepard, "That artifact is very important. If there's a chance it’s still on the planet, we have to go after it." He looked to Ashley, "I heard her call you, Williams?"

"Yes, sir. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams." Ashley responded.

"All right, Chief Williams, we'll follow you to the docking station and see what we can find." He removed his holstered pistol, and the other two soldiers followed suit, readying their weapons. "Lead the way."

Ashley turned on her heel, looking once more at Jane, then moved back the way she had just come from, towards her dead squad.

Shepard sighed and looked up to the sky in exasperation. Damn Alliance sheep, she thought. Cara readied her shotgun and trotted after the soldiers, who were already a good fifty yards away. On the way, her omnitool beeped, and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the noise. Shepard had to stop and remove the hardsuit's glove to access her omni since it wasn't connected to the armor she wore. There was a message: Put the guddam earpiece back in, Cara. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as they got back to the _Night Fox_ Zaeed tried to hail Shepard on the ship’s comms. “Damnit, Cara,” he griped when all he got was static.

“Comms are still down,” Cael offered, sitting down in the pilot’s seat and preparing for takeoff.

Zaeed sighed.

“Heard she took off,” Vetra said, joining Zaeed at the comms station. “Jack’s none too happy - she’s taking it out in Shepard’s quarters - and Sloane’s talking about shooting her out the airlock.

“Damned stubborn, girl,” Zaeed grumbled to Vetra.

She hummed. “I’m sure she’s fine,” Vetra reassured him, “she’s good in a tight spot. Knows how to take care of herself.”

Zaeed growled, but he agreed. “Is everyone else on board?”

“Yep, just waiting for you guys,” Vetra said.

“All right, get this bird in the…” Zaeed was cut off by a thrumming noise that filled the air. “What in the hell was that?”

Cael was looking over the data coming in, “Looks like it was that giant ship. It just lifted off.” He tapped a few more keys, “Oh hey, comms are back up.”

Zaeed keyed Shepard’s earpiece again. When he got a clear signal, he said, “Cara, do you copy?”

Silence filled the line. “Cara, answer me.” More silence. “Cara Shepard, you better answer me…”

“She took her earpiece out when the comms went earlier,” Sloane informed him as she ascended the stairs to the lounge.

Zaeed pulled up his omni messenger and furiously pounded out a message.

“Maybe I should talk to her,” Vetra said, watching the vein in the man’s forehead pulse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard looked confused for a split second before she remembered. Getting her fingers between her hip and her thigh plates proved difficult, but she finally reached her pocket and pulled out the earpiece. A familiar screech filled the air as she did. Shepard shoved the device into her ear and ran towards the noise and the group of Alliance soldiers. "I'm a little busy, you guys," Shepard said as she ran to catch up with Ashley.

"Cara, I’m gonna kick your guddam ass," Zaeed growled over the line.

"Yeah, yeah," Shepard said, "Why are you still on the planet? I told you to go on without me. I’ll find a ride off-world." She reached the group, who was fighting off a swarm of eight husks. "Ash, behind you," she yelled out as one approached from Ashley's six. Cara lit up her biotics and charged, hitting her target like a freight train. The husk split apart as it flew away. "Keep them back. They overload when they get close," Shepard told the group.

"Most of the fighting is in the main settlement now, Shepard," Vetra's voice was now on the line. "The remaining Alliance soldiers have taken cover. They are working to clear the remaining hostiles. Where are you? We can pick you up."

"Not now, I'm busy," Shepard said as she threw a warp field at a husk coming up on Alenko, and he finished it with a lift that exploded when the biotic fields met. The explosion knocked Alenko onto his back, and the scattering pieces ripped through another nearby husk, knocking it to the ground. It landed at the feet of one of the soldiers, who finished the monster quickly with a round through its skull.

Shepard could hear Vetra’s voice in her ear but wasn’t listening. She was surveying the area, looking out for any more husks. She had lost track of Ashley and was also looking for her. 

Ashley had taken out three of the husks and turned to see two more remaining. For whatever reason, they seemed focused on her. She knocked one back as the other one jumped onto her back, wrapping its skeletal legs around her waist and clawing at her helmet and armor. The one she knocked back advanced on her again, and she pulled the trigger on her gun as the one attached to her back wrenched her head backward, causing her to cry out in pain.

Shepard spun around when Ashley screamed in angered pain. She sprinted toward the Gunnery Chief to help. The fear of hitting Ashley with spray from her shotgun deciding her action.

Ashley had managed to kill the advancing husks with a spray of bullets through its torso, which seemed to be a weak spot. It divided in two and collapsed in on itself as evidence to her theory. Ashley tossed down her rifle and tried to pry off the legs locked around her waist while avoiding the clawed fingers going for her helmet. Throwing her head back to try and knock the creature away, Ashely was surprised when the thing flew from her back, unbalancing her and causing her to stumble. She heard the loud discharge of a shotgun, then arms caught under hers before she could fall to the ground.

"Gotcha," Shepard said, keeping Ashley on her feet. Ashley turned in her arms, making eye contact, and Cara gave her a cheeky smile. The brunette looked at Cara curiously before stepping out of her reach.

When Ashley realized who had helped her, a feeling of relief coursed through her, glad that Jane had followed along. She was also still very angry with the woman, and the conflicting emotions confused her. Turning in Jane's arms, Williams saw the relief in the woman's eyes before it was replaced with her usual brazen self. She stepped out of her arms.

"Those were some good moves," Alenko said, coming alongside Shepard, holding out his hand. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, yeah. You, too," Shepard grasped his hand. "Name’s Jane," Cara said as she watched Ashley turn and kneel to check out the monstrosities that Shepard had mentally started calling Husks.

"There aren't many humans I know who can pull off a biotic Charge," Alenko prodded.

"I studied with an asari when I was younger," Shepard said, which was the truth. His eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed. Shit, she thought and added, "My biotics didn't manifest until I was in my teens."

Alenko wasn't sure what to think but nodded at her explanation. "Chase, Roberts, secure the area." The two soldiers ran off to do as ordered. "Williams, how much further?"

Ashley didn't answer. She was bent over one of the creatures that had attacked them, staring at it. The setting sun glinted off something in her hand. Shepard stepped to Ashley's side and saw it was a small metallic plate. She put her hand on Ashley's shoulder, and it was immediately shrugged off. Ashley stood up quickly, knocking Shepard back a step, and turned to face her.

Shepard could see the hurt and the rage in her expression.

"Why are you still here? Why did you come back?" Ashley asked quietly through gritted teeth.

Cara didn't know how to answer that because she honestly wasn't sure herself. It was like an outside force was compelling her actions. She opened her mouth to say... anything but closed it again instead.

"Is everything okay here?" Alenko asked, interrupting.

"Fine," Ashley said, continuing towards the docking station, rifle at the ready.

Alenko looked at Shepard for clarity.

"These things," Cara pointed down to the Husks, "they were once human. The Geth put them on these teeth-like spikes, and they turn into these husk-like abominations." Alenko looked horrified at the explanation. "I'm pretty sure this is what's left of her unit. The one she mentioned earlier that was supposed to secure the dig site."

Rage at the horrific tactics flashed in Alenko's eyes, and his biotics flared before he swiftly got them under control. 

"Yep, that's about right," Shepard said, empathetic to his emotions. "We should follow her. She shouldn't be alone out there."

"Let's move out," Alenko called to his team, "the sooner we get the artifact, the better." He and his team moved to follow Ashley. Shepard hung around a moment more, looking at the monstrous husked bodies and the destruction around her. The voice in her ear drew her back.

“Shepard! Shepard! Cara, are you even listening to me?!” Vetra growled.

“Yeah, I heard you. I’m staying for now. I’ve got something to do,” Shepard said, turning to catch up with the others. “I’ll keep the line open, but I want you all to get away from here, or at least someplace safer.”

Vetra sighed, “Okay, fine, but when you get back on this ship, prepare for a major ass-kicking.”

Shepard smiled, “Sure thing.”


	17. Not Again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note to say there may not be an update next week. Life is going to be a bit hectic for me this next week, and I'm not sure I'll have time for edits and such so that the chapter is ready. That being said I'll do my best to get it out for you guys.

The small group traveled fast, encountering no resistance until they crested the final hill that overlooked the docking station. Shepard could see lowered spikes and a group of Geth ground troops guarding the station. She pointed out the shambling husks, who screeched and moaned when they noticed the intruders. The group worked well together, and their firepower and biotics dispatched the monstrosities and machines with ease. When the area was clear of enemies, Alenko sent Ashley and Roberts to search the dock for any sign of the artifact.

The search came up empty of any sign of the artifact. They did find a dock worker hiding behind some crates. He survived the initial attack because he was napping on the job, and he stayed hidden behind them while the Geth were in the area. After gentle prodding, he told them he saw the machines take the artifact on the tram right before the big spaceship took off. He also told them there were organics with them - a turian and an asari. The news didn't bode well for the recovery of the artifact, but Alenko pushed the group along. Shepard rolled her eyes but followed Ashley towards the tram, cursing under her breath as she did. 

The group boarded the tram and commanded it over to the main spaceport. Shepard found a seat and sat down to rest. Her head was throbbing again, and her arm felt on fire. She closed her eyes and listened. Alenko was telling Roberts to keep his eyes open and Chase to try and connect to the planetary info network to collect as much info as she could about what happened. 

Shepard felt a shadow fall over her and peeked open an eye. "Hey," she said as Ashley settled next to her.

"Hey," Ashley replied, not looking at her.

"You okay?" Shepard asked.

"Fine." Still not looking. "What about you? Your head hurting again?" Ashley looked over finally.

"I'll be fine." Cara gave Ashley a small smile, "I've got a hard head." 

Ashley looked away again before Cara could see her facial expression. It was silent for the rest of the trip.

The station appeared empty as the tram pulled in, but a surprise, in the form of a giant ticking bomb, greeted them when they departed the tram. 

"Roberts, figure out what we're dealing with," Alenko said. "The rest of us will check for more Geth."

Shepard rolled her eyes but followed along, keeping to the back of the group. As they approached the upper part of the station, they heard the whirs and beeps of the Geth. Alenko held up his hand to stop them and peeked his head over the stairs' safety wall. He again held up a hand to indicate three Geth to the left. At once, all four Alliance dressed rose and fired. 

Shepard used biotics instead of her shotgun since she had chosen to stay back. Her warp field caught the one in the middle, ripping it to pieces as the other two were mowed down by the others' weapon fire.

"Chase, stay put and warn if anymore Geth show their ugly tin heads," Alenko said.

"I'll stay too," Ashely offered.

"Okay," Alenko said, looking over to Shepard, "Jane, you know anything about bombs."

Cara shrugged, "The basics, but I'll take a look."

They went back down to the boarding station where Roberts was looking over his omnitool. "It's a nuke, Sir. And, it's got a countdown. I've swept the area for more, and I'm getting four more similar pings around the station."

"Can you disarm them?" Alenko asked.

"I've never seen tech like this," Roberts said, "but I think I can do it. Problem is, I don't think I have time for all four."

Alenko rubbed his furrowed brow. "Okay, do what you can. I'll take Chase and Williams to clear the area and find the other bombs. We can help diffuse them once you get that one done." Alenko turned to Shepard, "See if you can help cut down the time it takes to disarm them."

Cara nodded, then crouched down next to Roberts as Alenko ran back up to join Chase and Ashley.

Roberts looked over at Cara before he started working on the device. "You know anything about these things?"

"Their bad, and they go boom," Shepard said, "but I might have someone who can help."

Roberts looked at her curiously, still fiddling with his omnitool and the bomb.

Shepard tapped the device in her ear. "Vee, you still there?" she asked, urgency in her voice.

"Yeah. Here, Shepard," Vetra said.

Cara sent a thank you out to the universe that her crew was as stubborn as her. "I've got a bit of a situation here. The Geth left some nuclear devices as an early Christmas present. All set with a countdown."

Shepard could hear Vetra's eye roll, "Nuclear bombs, Cara. Really?"

"Really. Now, can anyone walk me through disarming them?"

After a long moment, Reza came on the line, "I might be able to help Captain. What do they look like?"

"I can do you one better. I've got the specs here." Cara motioned to Roberts to send her the bomb data he'd collected. He looked at her skeptically but sent it. Shepard tapped at her omni as soon as the data transferred. "There, did you get it?"

"Yes. This is a highly complex design. It looks quarian," Reza said as he looked at the data. "The explosion will be devastating."

"It’s Geth," Shepard said. "Can you help disarm it and four others like it?"

"Of course," Reza answered. "I'll send you a disarming sequence that should work to disarm the device when you get within five feet of it." He immediately began typing away at his omnitool.

"Awesome, how quick can you get it here," Shepard asked, looking at the countdown, "Countdown is at less than five minutes."

"On its way now," Reza answered, pushing the send button.

A moment later, her omnitool beeped, and ten seconds later the explosive device next to her powered down. “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

"Woah," Roberts said, checking the device and his omnitool.

"Yeah, let's go join the others," Shepard said. She could hear the sound of weapons fire now that she was listening for it. "Here's the sequence. Send it to your boss." She grabbed her gun and took off towards the fighting, not waiting for Roberts, who was now looking over the unarm sequence on his omni.

Three and a half minutes later, a group of five perspiring humans breathed a sigh of relief as the last bomb deactivated. 

Chase, hunched over and breathing hard, stood near one of the deactivated bombs. She glanced at her omni, looking at the countdown timer. "Fuck," she said, standing straight, "those fuckers would have wiped out a third of the planet."

"Well, we stopped that from happening," Alenko said as he removed his helmet. He wiped the sweat from his brow. Shepard blinked at the shock of gray at Alenko's temples. He gave her a curious look, and she looked away. "Good job, everyone," he said, replacing his helmet, "let's keep moving. Only the loading docks to check now." He hung back with Shepard, waiting for the other three to move ahead.

Cara wasn't paying attention as Alenko fell in step beside her, lost in memories that were hers but not. It was weird, Cara thought, he looks the same except for the streaks of gray, and his eyes looked tired. A throat cleared beside her, and she looked to see who it was. She stared into the same eyes she had been thinking about. Harder, the thought shot through her mind. Shepard cocked her head at the thought and to acknowledge Alenko. Yep, she agreed with the thought, his eyes were harder, jaded. Wonder what that's about? She shook her head, bothered by the thoughts, considering she had never met this man before in her life.

"So, Jane," Alenko said, "I don't know who you are, but I know you're not Alliance."

"Never claimed to be," Shepard said, walking to catch up with the other three.

"True," Alenko agreed, following along beside her, "but you are wearing Alliance armor.”

"It's a loner," Shepard said, looking down at the dark blue material. "My gear was inaccessible when shit hit the fan."

"Who's Vee?" Alenko asked.

"Someone who helped diffuse those bombs," Shepard answered. Figures Roberts would say something. She stopped suddenly, facing the Lieutenant Commander. They stared at one another for several seconds, each taking the measure of the other. Shepard realized that the Alenko she thought she knew, or whatever, wasn't the same as the one standing in front of her. This one was colder. His eyes were harder and less compassionate. What happened to you, Shepard thought. She wasn't sure what this Alenko would do to her or her friends if she told him the truth. A subject change then, "What if the Prothean artifact is gone? Why is it so important?" Shepard asked, catching Alenko off guard.

Alenko blinked and took a step back from the blonde woman, the original subject momentarily forgotten. "It's a chance to advance humanity. It will gain us favor with the Council. Very few of these types of artifacts are found intact. This is an opportunity to show the Council we, humanity, are willing to share and play nice with the rest of the galaxy."

His words felt rehearsed, and all but the first line sounded caustic to Shepard. She believed that what he said were the thoughts of the Alliance and the overall governing bodies of humanity, but to Lieutenant Commander Alenko, playing nice with the Council races was not something he agreed with.

"Hey, Commander," Chase called back to them, "The artifact's still here. I bet this last group was supposed to take it with'em when they left."

Alenko broke eye contact with Shepard, turning to look at his team. They were standing on the top platform of the loading area, looking down. He looked back at Shepard and gave her a smirk, "Guess we don’t have to worry about what to do if it’s gone.” As he walked off, he said, “I hope you and your friends won’t be a problem, Jane."

Shepard didn't respond and watched Alenko walk away, talking into his comms. That’s a veiled threat if I ever heard one, Shepard thought, and what did he mean exactly? We’ve been nothing but helpful. After a moment, she followed behind slowly, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Shepard, you need to get out of there," Vetra's voice piped up in her ear. "There's an Alliance ship incoming."

"I'll be fine," she spoke quietly. "That artifact is still here. They're taking it to the Citadel. There's still a chance..."

"No, it's over. Get somewhere out of sight, and we'll pick you up after the Alliance is gone. This job's a bust."

“Yeah,” Shepard sighed, knowing Vetra was right, but her gut told her otherwise. There was still something that she needed to do here. She swept the group of soldiers. Alenko was discussing something with Chase at the top of the stairs, gesturing to something on her omni-tool. She watched as Alenko looked at the information then glanced in Williams' direction. That can't be good, Shepard thought. “Listen, Vee, I'm staying," She picked up her pace to catch up with the rest of the group as she was still a dozen yards away, "I'll be fine. I can catch a ride. I've gotta go."

"Shepard, dammit..." she heard Vetra growl.

"Tell the crew not to worry, I'll see you all in a few hours at the Citadel." She removed the earpiece, once more tucking it away. She jogged to catch up with the others. As she approached, Alenko gave her a dubious look then joined Williams and Roberts, who'd been awaiting orders near the top of the stairs.

"Let's move people. Our ride off this rock will arrive soon."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vetra sighed when she realized Cara wasn't listening anymore. This wasn't the first time the stubborn woman had gone off half-cocked, fighting battles that weren't hers. "Cael, get us back to the Citadel." 

"We're not going back for Shepard," Cael asked.

"She found another ride," Vetra said, patting the pilot on the shoulder as he hummed his response. She took one last look at Eden Prime below them in orbit and headed for her quarters.

Sid was still working away at her computer station when Vetra entered their shared quarters. "How's the search coming?"

"Still nothing," Sid said, pushing away from her keyboard, "it's about a quarter of the way through, and there's still the possibility that whoever it is isn't even registered, or it's a fake name. "

"What about the other stuff?"

"I was able to finally trace the origin of the Blue Suns' and The Forgottens' messages. They came from the Xe Cha system of the Shrike Abyssal. There's a volus mining operation there."

"The volus?" Vetra asked in disbelief.

"Weird, right?" Sid asked. "I've sent out an inquiry to speak with whoever's in charge, but haven't heard anything back."

"Okay, what about our job? You find any more info on who could have sent it?"

"Not a thing. All my searches come back with dead ends. In fact, it's like whoever sent this didn't even use normal communication channels." Sid sighed, "I don't know what else to search."

"Hey, you've done good, Sid," Vetra said, "We'll figure it out in time. For now, take a break. We're heading for the Citadel."

Sid looked up from her screen with a worried look. "What about.."

"Cara's meeting us there. She found a ride - with the Alliance no less," Vetra scoffed.

"Okay," Sid said, "I'll grab a bite, you want anything?"

"I'm good, but I'll meet you up in the lounge soon. I'm going to call everyone up for a meeting. Get them caught up with what's going on."

"All right," Sid said, standing from her chair, "See you soon." She gave Vetra a quick hug and left their shared quarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepard caught up with Alenko’s crew, and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the loading bay area. A giant patch of earth to the right of the platform, spanning at least a half-mile, was now molten earth. Even from a hundred yards away, she could feel the heat pouring off of it.

"You coming, Jane?" Alenko asked as he began his descent down the stairs.

Cara pulled her vision away from the terrifying sight and swept the platform. There was the artifact sitting dormant. It looked the same as it had the night before, but... then Shepard realized. The artifact had been taken to the spaceport before the big ship left, yet it was still here. Why? Her mind raced for an explanation. Chase had suggested the ones left behind were taking it, but where was their escape shuttle. Whoever wanted the artifact got what they wanted from it. If they got what they needed from it, they would no longer need the device. The Geth knew they were being pursued, and the ones pursuing them wouldn't stop until they either had it or were dead. It was a failsafe of sorts. 

It was as though her thoughts alone activated the Geth's plan. She watched in slow motion as Ashley approached the currently dormant machine, talking to Alenko. There was a spark at the base that went unnoticed by the others, not paying attention or looking for anything suspicious. 

"Get back!" Shepard yelled as she launched herself off the top of the balcony, using her biotics to slow her fall. Halfway down, and with the others' attention on her - confused by her outburst and actions - the artifact began to hum and glow an all too familiar sickly green. It latched on to the closest person, Ashley Williams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alenko was deciding what to do with the intel he had received from Chase about Gunnery Chief Williams. The Lieutenant had found evidence that Williams had been in the brig for questioning about a theft attempt on the Prothean device. It implied that she could be an accomplice. It was strange, Alenko thought, that the Gunnery Chief agreed to take them to it. Unless she was still pursuing it and thought with everything that happened, she could get away with it. He watched her with shrewd eyes as she told him it looked intact and decided he would do nothing for now. Once she was aboard the Normandy, it would be easier to apprehend her if needed. 

Alenko looked around the loading dock, keeping an eye out for any more hostiles. His eyes wandered to the massive area of molten earth from the enormous spaceship. The silence of the moment broke when a shout came from above them. He whipped around towards the sound, pulling his biotics forward, and looked for the threat. Alenko saw Jane leap over the balcony railing, and from his left, he heard a gasp.

Turning, Alenko saw that the Prothean device had activated. It was using some kind of force field to pull Williams towards it. Before he could react, Jane had landed and tackled Williams, throwing her to the ground away from the device. He watched as it latched onto Jane instead and sucked her up into its green light. The next few moments were like slow motion. Alenko watched Jane's body get pulled into the air and go so rigid with tension, he thought it would break in two before the top of the Prothean device exploded. The concussive force from the explosion pushed Shepard into the base of the stairs, where she laid unmoving. Alenko was knocked onto his back and the wind forced out of his lungs. When he pushed himself up, he saw Williams over a downed Jane. 

Unwilling to take a chance that what happened was some kind of accident, he pulled Williams away from Jane. "Williams, you're under arrest for destruction of Alliance property," Alenko said, handing her over to Private First Class Chase, who pulled the Gunnery Chief's arms behind her and bound them. Alenko didn't know what was going on, but he wanted answers, and, just maybe, Williams would have them. Once Williams was secured, he crouched down and took a look at Jane. She didn't look good. She was unconscious and unresponsive. "Roberts, see what you can do for Jane. We'll take her with us on the Normandy. Doctor Chakwas can take a look at her."

Ashley's head was reeling, and she looked on in shocked disbelief. Her vision grew fuzzy and began to tunnel. Her breathing was becoming more difficult, and sounds were muted and unclear. The sudden form of Alenko in front of her made her focus. Indignation rose within her, freeing her from the oncoming panic attack. She jumped at him but was held back by Chase.

"I wouldn't, Williams," Alenko said, his voice like ice. "You may have information important to the Alliance that could help you, but attacking me will only make this so much worse for you. I’ve received some information that claims you are a traitor to the Alliance, and by extension, humanity. It seems you were caught working with criminals attempting to steal this device.” He pointed to the now broken beacon, saying, “Convenient that it exploded, wouldn't you say. Was it a coincidence you were so close to it when it reactivated?”

"With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about," Ashley said, nearly growling as she pulled at her bindings and at the hold Chase had on her. "I would never betray the Alliance."

"Were you, or were you not in the brig when the attack began?”

Ashley swallowed past the lump in her throat. She had no response for that because she had been. Damnit, Jane, Ashley thought.

"As I thought," Alenko said with a smug smirk. 

Ashley glanced up as a frigate unlike anything she had ever seen, appeared overhead, and headed for their position. It settled opposite the lava field.

"Load them up," Alenko said. "Roberts, can she be moved?" he pointed to Jane. 

Roberts nodded, “We’ll need a backboard.”

"Call medical and get her to Chakwas. Chase, toss this one in the brig," Alenko said, nodding his head towards Ashley. "Send a team out to load up what's left of this." He waved a hand towards the now broken and dormant artifact.

Alenko watched as his soldiers did as he ordered. A medical assistant coming to help move the injured Jane. As soon as they were out of sight, he turned to the artifact and stared at it curiously before he pulled up a program on his omnitool. Making sure he was still alone, he swiped the omni's scanner over the artifact, walking around it to get a full reading. He quickly tapped a few other buttons and sent off a message before he closed and destroyed the program and any trace of the message.

He waited until he saw a few members of the crew coming to get the artifact, then made his way to the ship.

**Author's Note:**

> My goal is to post once a week. Hopefully, I can stick with that schedule. That being said I'll try and warn readers if I'll be posting later than promised. Also, any reviews are very welcome.


End file.
